Current Affairs November 2019

For the very purpose of getting you ready for the challenge that is Current Affairs In India, we are covering the 2018 November current affairs including politics current affair, current affair news, science current affairs, general knowledge current affair, current government affair and international current affairs. Only studying India's current affairs or political current affairs is not sufficient as you have to cover international events and current affairs along with the Indian current affairs, as well as those in the field of science and sports.

Current Affairs November 03 to November 09

Indian polity

Gujarat anti-terror bill:  President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill, a controversial anti-terror legislation passed by the BJP-ruled state in March 2015. According to this law, any act which is intended to disrupt law and order or public order or endanger the unity, integrity and security of the state or to spread terror in the minds of any certain section of people, will fall into the category of terrorism.

Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill (GCTOC) includes one of the most important features of this law is that intercepted phone calls can now be considered as legitimate evidence. It includes economic offences under GCTOC like Ponzi Schemes, Fake Multi-Level Marketing Schemes and organized betting. The act also includes forced recovery, land grabbing, contract killings, cybercrime and human trafficking. Under this act, there is a provision for 5 years of jail or life imprisonment in cases of involvement or planning any such crime and there is a provision of life imprisonment and capital punishment in the context of the death of a person as a result of such crimes. According to the provisions of the law, assets acquired through organized crimes can be auctioned and the transfer of assets can be cancelled. This Bill also provides for the creation of a special court as well as the appointment of special public prosecutors in the context of organized crimes.

The Gujarat Terrorism and Organized Crime Control Bill, earlier named Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill was introduced in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly in 2003. It had been rejected by the President of India three times in the years 2004, 2008 and 2015. This was because of its controversial aspects.The aspects were:

*The provision of recording phone calls by the investigating agencies and presenting it to the court as evidence is an infringement of the fundamental right of privacy, Article 21.

*A person accused of any crime cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself under Article 20 (3)

*The provision of presenting the statement taken from the accused in police custody as evidence is a violation of the fundamental rights of the accused in Article 20

Indian Policy

Skills Build platform : It is a digital platform which has been launched by the  Union Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with IBM, an American multinational IT (information technology) company.

As a part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). This has been co-created and designed by IBM. The platform will train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI). SkillsBuild also offers digital learning content from IBM and partners like Coorpacademy, CodeDoor and Skillsoft. It will provide the enrolled students with a personal assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality through MyInnerGenius. The students will learn foundational knowledge about digital technologies, as well as professional skills like communication, problem solving and resume-writing. They will also receive recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs that include technical as well as professional learning.

The main objective of this initiative by the Centre which is also a part of IBM’s global commitment is to create a job-ready workforce and to build Next-Gen of skills needed for new collar careers. It is aimed to help the youth to scale themselves as per the changing market trends. The platform is deployed with support of leading NGOs such as Edunet Foundation and Unnati. Under this programme IBM Volunteers along with NGOS will offer students personalised coaching and experiential learning opportunities.

FSSAI: It refers to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. It is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India. It was founded in August 2011.

With an aim to ensure safe and wholesome food for School children FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has proposed a draft regulation titled Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019. The draft is a 10 pointer chart that imposes a ban on the sale of soft drinks, potato wafers and other junk foods within 50 meters of school campus. Even the advertisements of these junk foods are banned. As per the draft, the foods that are referred to HFSS (High in Fat, Salt and Sugar) cannot be sold in school canteens, mess premises or hostel kitchens or locations within a 50-meter radius of the school, school authorities have to adopt a adopt a comprehensive programme ,as per the guidelines issued by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), for promoting safe food and healthy diets among school children, the school campus should be converted into 'Eat Right School' ensuring safe and healthy food, local and seasonal food and no food waste as per the specified benchmarks and  help nutritionists and dieticians must be taken by the school administration to assist in the preparation of menu for the children.

A license or registration has to be obtained by the School Authority or Food Business Operators (FBO) contracted by the School Authority selling school meals. They should also obtain a registration license complying with requirements of hygienic and sanitary practices

Environment & Climate

World Tsunami Awareness Day: It is observed on 5 November every year. The United Nations General Assembly in December 2015 designated 5th November as World Tsunami Awareness Day after the 2004 deadliest Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. It is dedicated to promoting a global culture of tsunami awareness around the world.

The theme of the world tsunami awareness day 2019 is "Sendai Seven Campaign" which focuses on reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services. Over 700 million people live in low-lying coastal areas and Small Island. The United Nations aims to increase the use of early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, educate people to save and protect their assets against tsunami risk in the future.

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO raise global awareness about effective actions, policies and practices to reduce exposure to disaster risk through its four Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Systems for the Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Sea regions. The IOC also assists Member countries about the regular tsunami communication and evacuation exercises, increase readiness for and understanding of tsunamis among citizens and communities around the world through education programmes.

Tsunami: A tsunami is a natural disaster which is a series of fast-moving waves in the ocean caused by powerful earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, or simply an asteroid or a meteor crash inside the ocean. A tsunami has a very long wavelength. It can be hundreds of kilometres long. Usually, a tsunami starts suddenly. The term ‘Tsunami’ is a Japanese term which means “harbour wave”. Tsunami waves can travel at the speed of 800 km/hour and its height can be 20 feet to 300 feet. The speed of tsunami waves depends on depth of the ocean . The speed of tsunami is fast in deep water while slow down when reaching shallow waters. Around 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis are among the most devastating natural disasters. They know no coastal borders.

The deadliest Tsunami ever was recorded in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. It caused an estimated 2.27 lac deaths in 14 countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Cyclones :  It is caused by a combination of strong winds driving water onshore and the lower atmospheric pressure in a tropical cyclone. The main effects of tropical cyclones include heavy rain, strong wind, large storm surges at landfall, and tornadoes.

 

Cyclone Maha : IT is an extremely severe cyclonic storm and is a currently active tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea. Cyclone Maha is expected to make landfall in Gujarat in the early hours of Thursday, the India Meteorological Department said in its latest bulletin. Maha will hit Gujarat at a lower intensity than previously predicted -- it will cross between Diu and Porbandar as a cyclonic storm with winds of up to 90 kmph

Cyclone Bulbul : It is an extremely severe cyclonic storm and is currently active in the Bay of Bengal. Bulbul is the name given by Pakistan. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha districts of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are gearing up to tackle Cyclone Bulbul forming in the Bay of Bengal. This will be the seventh tropical cyclone this year to hit India.

Scientists believe that air pollution, caused by human activities, may be strengthening cyclones because air pollution weakens the forces that can otherwise prevent cyclones from forming.

Ganga Utsav: It is an event celebrated annually on the 4th of November because India's most holy river Ganga was declared as the country’s national river on this day in 2008. River Ganga has significant economic, environmental and cultural value in India. It is organised in a bid to create awareness and gather public participation in efforts to clean River Ganga and its tributaries.

Ganga Utsav was organised by The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in coordination with Union Jal Shakti Ministry in Major Dhyanchand stadium in New Delhi to mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga being declared as national river. The Director General of NMCG, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra also graced the occasion along with  esteemed dignitaries like Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Indian union minister of Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria union minister of state in ministry of Jal Shakti, social justice and empowerment.

Wastelands Atlas 2019: It is the fifth edition of Wastelands Atlas. It provides a complete geospatial information on wastelands of India that can help in planning various land development programs and schemes. It includes mapping of about 12.08 Mha (Million-hectare meter) so far, in the unmapped area of Jammu & Kashmir. India with 2.4% of total land area of the World is supporting 18% of the World’s population. The last four Wastelands Atlases of India  2000, 2005, 2010 & 2011 editions ware jointly published by The Department of Land Resources with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Department of Space .

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently released the 5th edition of Wastelands Atlas-2019. It was published by the Department of Land Resources and National Remote Sensing Centre. Department of Land Resources in collaboration with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) prepared the Atlas. The changes in wastelands between 2008-09 and 2015-16 have been presented in the Atlas. The Wastelands Atlas-2019 provides district and state wise distribution of different categories of wastelands area including mapping of about 12.08 Mha hitherto unmapped area of Jammu & Kashmir. The majority of wastelands have been changed into categories of croplands, plantation and industrial areas. A reduction in the wasteland area was observed in the categories of land with dense scrub, marshy land, sandy areas, and degraded pastures.The wastelands have undergone a positive change in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and West Bengal.

Wastelands: These are a barren and uncultivated land lying unproductive or which is not being utilized to its potential. It includes degraded forests, overgrazed pastures, drought-struck pas­tures, eroded valleys, hilly slopes, waterlogged marshy lands, barren land, etc.

Economics

ICEDASH, ATITHI: These are two new IT initiatives launched by Finance Minister Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. These initiatives will not only for improve monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods but also facilitate arriving international passengers with e-filing of baggage and currency declarations.

ICEDASH: It is an Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping the public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports. With ICEDASH, Indian customs can provide an effective tool that helps the businesses compare clearance times across ports and plan their logistics accordingly. This dashboard has been developed by CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) in collaboration with NIC (National Informatics Centre). ICEDASH can be accessed through the CBIC website.

ATITHI: It is a mobile app for international travellers to file the Customs declaration in advance. It is available on both iOS and Android. This app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at the airports.

CBIC: It refers to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. It is India's nodal national agency. It is responsible for administering Service Tax, GST, Customs, Central Excise and Narcotics in the country.

NIC: It refers to National Informatics Centre which is the premier science and technology organisation under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY). It works in informatics services and information and communication technology (ICT) applications.

RBI: It refers to The Reserve Bank of India. It is India's central bank, which controls the issuance and supply of the Indian rupee. RBI is the regulator of entire Banking in India. RBI plays an important part in the Development Strategy of the Government of India.

The Reserve Bank of India has issued new compensation guidelines for whole-time directors and chief executives of foreign, private, small finance, payments banks and local area banks, mandating the cash component of variable pay at 67%. The new compensation norms were isssued on the 4th of November 2019 and will be effective from April 2020.

According to the guidelines, RBI said that if the variable pay is up to 200 per cent of the fixed pay, at least 50 % of it should be in non-cash. If the variable pay is above 200 per cent, 67 per cent of it should be paid via non-cash instruments.

The RBI also instructed the banks to continue to formulate and adopt a comprehensive compensation policy covering all their employees and conduct annual reviews. The main objective of RBI It has revised the compensation rules at a time when several private banks have been dealing with financial stress in asset quality.

The key objective of The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to link bankers pay more closely with their performance, as authorities look to clean up an industry reeling under a pile of bad loans and a slew of scandals.

The RBI also said that it wants banks to claw-back the non-variable pay components if there is divergence in provisioning for NPAs or asset classification exceeds the prescribed threshold for public disclosure. As per the RBI notifications the policy should cover all aspects of the compensation structure such as fixed pay, perquisites, performance bonuses, guaranteed bonuses, severance package, share-linked instruments like employee stock option plans, pension plans, and gratuity. Foreign banks operating under the branch mode will have to continue to submit a declaration to RBI annually from their head offices confirming that the compensation structures of those working in the country are in conformity with principles and standards set by the Financial Stability Board.

An annual submission of a declaration of confirming that the compensation structure of those working in the country are in conformity with principles and standards set by the Financial Stability Board to RBI has to be made from foreign bank's  head offices operating under the branch mode.

Khadi: It is India's signature fabric. Khadi is a term used for fabrics that are spun and woven by hand. It gained its importance since the freedom movement of boycott. Khadi, according to the Indian Flag Code is According to Indian Flag Code, is the only material allowed to be used for the flag. If the Indian flag is made with any other material the offense is punishable by law with imprisonment up to 3 years and fine.

Khadi has been allocated a separate Harmonised System (HS) code by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a move that is expected to boost its exports in the coming years. HS stands for Harmonized System and it is a six-digit identification code. It was developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The code is used by customs officers to clear commodities that enters or crosses any international border.

HS Code: It refers to Harmonized System code. It is a multipurpose International Nomenclature that describes type of goods being shipped. The code follows Kyoto Convention of 1974 and is being used by more than 200 countries. The code aids countries in collection of international trade statistics and forms a basis for customs tariffs. This helps in better reach of the product and increases its global popularity.

WCO: It refers to World Customs Organization. It is an inter-governmental organization. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1952. It maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature. It administers the technical aspects of WTO, Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin. It also works towards the development of international conventions, rules of origin, supply chain security, customs reforms, IPRs, and modernization, etc.

GoI: The Government of India (GoI)  on November 7, 2019, approved Rs 25,000 crore Fund for stuck middle and low-income RERA registered housing projects that are net worth positive. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will put in Rs 10,000 crore in the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) while State Bank of India and LIC would provide Rs 15,000 crore, taking the total size to Rs 25,000 crore. The fund is to be set up as Category II Alternate Investment Fund. The “Special Window” will prioritize debt financing in the Affordable and middle-income housing sector for completion of at least 1,600 stalled real estate projects in the country. It will help provide employment to workers and also help restore trust between buyers and developers. The Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) can be utilised even by the projects which have been declared non-performing assets or are facing insolvency proceedings.

Apart from Rs 25,000 crores from Centre, SBI and LIC, the sovereign and pension funds have also agreed to invest in the market.

DIN: It refers to The Documentation Identification Number system. The DIN system in indirect tax administration and has been created as per the direction of Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

CBIC: It refers to Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs. It is the apex policy making body for indirect taxes in the Central government. The existing formations of Central Excise & Service Tax under CBEC have been re-organised to implement and enforce the provisions of the proposed goods and service tax laws.

The Documentation Identification Number (DIN) system of Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) will come into existence from 8th November 2019. The CBIC is implementing a system for electronic (digital) generation of a Documents Identification Number (DIN) for all communications sent by its office to taxpayers and other concerned person.

The step is aimed at bringing transparency and accountability in the indirect tax administration through widespread use of information technology. The Government has already executed the DIN system in the direct tax administration. The DIN would be used for search authorisation, summons, arrest memo, inspection notices and letters issued in the course of any enquiry. Any communication from GST or Custom or Central Excise department without a computer-generated DIN, would be treated as invalid and shall be non-est.  in law or deemed to be as if it has never been issued. It will provide the taxpayer a digital facility to verify any communications.

International

RCEP: It refers to The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The RCEP negotiations were launched by ASEAN leaders and the six other countries during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in Cambodia in November 2012.The objective of launching RCEP negotiations was to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement among the ASEAN member States and its FTA partners.

India has decided not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal at the summit meeting of the 16-nation block as negotiations failed to address India's outstanding issues and concerns. The proposed deal would have adverse impact on the lives and livelihoods of all Indians, especially the weaker sections of the society. The decision taken by the Central Government was lauded by all opposition leaders in India, who were against the signing of the deal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement during his speech at the 2019 RCEP Summit in Bangkok. Centre said that the present form of the agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles of the RCEP. India stands for greater regional integration as well as for more free trade and adherence to a rule-based international order.

India-Uzbekistan: Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who was on his first visit to Uzbekistan in about 15 years, held bilateral consultations with Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov. Both the countries signed three MoUs to enhance cooperation in Military Medicine and Military Education. Defence Minister was there in Tashkent attending Council of Heads and Governments (CHGs) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as the special envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Two Institution-to-Institution MoUs on training and capacity building between institutes of higher military learning of the two countries were also signed. The MoU is a by-product of interactions emanating from the MoU on Military Education signed between the two countries in October 2018.

The Indian Defence Minister and his Uzbek counterpart agreed that both the nations will continue to cooperate and work together to further enhance their engagement level in defence, in line with India’s strategic partnership with Uzbekistan. The also agreed that their enhanced cooperation will be based on a higher level of mutual trust and respect between the two countries, along with their shared views on a host of regional and global issues, including combating terrorism and extremism and regional stability and security.

The two defence ministers witnessed the first-ever exchange over a video-link between College of Defence Management in Secunderabad and Armed Forces Academy of Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Both of them also presided over the Curtain Raiser of the first-ever India-Uzbekistan Joint Exercise - Dustlik-2019.

6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of G20 countries : An Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla took part in the 6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of the G20 countries, being held in Tokyo, Japan. The summit was attended by Presiding Officers of Parliaments of G20 countries. Mr Birla while addressing the 6TH Parliamentary Speakers' Summit OF G20 countries shared his views with Presiding Officers of Parliaments of G20 countries and said that terrorism not only damages the society but also significantly impacts the economy. He also said that today the world is grappling with several challenges which not only obstruct the efforts towards development but also pose a serious threat to humanity.

Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit : The Parliamentary summit is unofficially called P20. It was jointly hosted and organised by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international organisation (headquartered in Geneva) and the House of Councillors of National Diet of Japan. It is the largest and oldest global parliamentary platform

Biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference 2019 : The biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference is being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 4-7 November 2019.  Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad will be representing India at the conference. The theme of the conference is Equal Access to Justice and the Rule of Law.  Law Ministers and Attorney Generals from Commonwealth countries will be participating in the 4-day conference. The conference chaired by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms, Thalatha Atukorala seeks to address challenges faced by millions of people seeking to resolve legal problems or disputes. The conference emphasizes the significance of the event in the current global context in which obstacles to justice are prevalent in many forms such as poverty, lack of legal aid, distrust of the justice system and corruption. As access to justice is fundamental for democracy and peace to flourish so Commonwealth countries are working actively through mutual support and encouragement to address barriers that may remain, particularly for vulnerable groups.

CARAT- 2019: The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Exercise CARAT) is a series of annual bilateral military exercises conducted by the United States Pacific Fleet with several member nations of ASEAN in Southeast Asia. Currently, the navies of Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand participated. The objectives of CARAT includes enhancing regional cooperation, building friendships, and strengthening professional skills. In 2010, Cambodia and Bangladesh became the first CARAT participants to join the exercise since 1995

The second phase of naval exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2019 between the US and Bangladesh, began in Chattogram, Bangladesh, on 4 November 2019. The exercise is provided with different subject-based training and exercise. The CARAT is a yearly exercise conducted between the navies of Bangladesh and United States in the Bay of Bengal. The first edition of exercise was held in 2011.

The opening ceremony of CARAT- 2019 was attended by Assistant chief of naval staff (operations) Bangladesh Navy and the Commander logistic group, Western Pacific Command Task Force 73 (CTF-73) of US Navy.

The CARAT- 2019 exercise aims to provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of operational activities of the Navies of two countries (US- Bangladesh) and to also get acquainted with advanced technology through various theoretical and practical training.

ASEAN: It refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organization that comprises ten southeast Asian countries as member nations-Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It was created on August 8, 1947 after ASEAN declaration was signed by the foreign ministers of 5 nations- Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.

It aims to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitate educational, economic, political, security, military and socio-cultural integration among its members and other Asian countries. ASEAN is India’s fourth largest trading partner.

India-ASEAN Summit, 2019: The 16th ASEAN-India Summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand on November 3, 2019. The summit was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ASEAN countries appreciated India's contribution towards maintaining peace and stability in the Southeast Asian region as both sides discussed terrorism and the need to maintain peace, security and stability in the Beijing-controlled South China Sea. India and ASEAN have decided to jointly combat terrorism in Indo- Pacific region. The two sides have agreed to undertake a review of the India-ASEAN FTA to make it more balanced.

While speaking at the ASEAN-India Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that integrated, organised and economically developing ASEAN is in India's basic interest. He stated that expanding connectivity and deepening India-ASEAN economic integration is the core of the Act East Policy. He furthur added that India is committed to enhancing the partnership through the strong surface, maritime and air connectivity besides via the digital link and is ready for partnership in capacity building in the fields of agriculture, science, engineering, research, business and tourism. India has allocated 1 billion USD as line of credit to improve physical and digital connectivity.

National

Dustlik 2019: It is the name given to the first India-Uzbekistan Joint Exercise. ‘Dustlik 2019’ took off at Tashkent in Uzbekistan in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbek counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov.

The ten-day drill starting November 4-19 is being conducted at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent where the armies from both countries train alongside each other. The exercise is focused on counter-terrorism. The exercise will enable sharing of best practices and experiences between the Armed Forces of the two countries and will lead to greater operational effectiveness.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov presided over the Curtain Raiser of the military drill yesterday.

India and Uzbekistan have signed three Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of Military Medicine and Military Education.   The MoUs were signed following a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart in Tashkent on Saturday

ICGS Annie Besant: It is a medium-range vessel with a length of 50 metres, a width of 7.5 metres and displacement of around 308 tonnes, the  Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) is capable of operations like patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and rescue operations in the maritime zones of the country. ICGS Annie Besant is designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles. It is not only equipped with three main engines with advanced control systems, water jet units as well as an Integrated Bridge System (IBS) with all communication and navigation systems but also fitted with 40/60 gun as main armament.

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) founded in 1884 with its headquarters in Kolkata, West Bengal delivered the Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS Annie Besant, the second in the series of five such ships, to Indian Coast Guard(ICGS). It is also the 101st warship to be delivered by GRSE.

New Map of India: The Union Government has released a new political map of India after two new Union Territories- Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh came into existence on October 31, 2019 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and supervision of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.The Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were created after on recommendation of Parliament. The President effectively dismantled Article 370 of Indian Constitution and gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The maps was prepared by Survey General of India.The newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 22 districts, while Ladakh has two districts. The new political map of India shows three districts of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) – Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Punch as a part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while another Pakistan administered territory, Gilgit-Baltistan,as a part of UT of Ladakh.

Samudra Shakti: It is a bilateral meritime naval excercise by the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy. India is jointly exercising its anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta along with Indonesian warship  KRI Usman Harun,  a multi-role corvette, in the Bay of Bengal as part of an ongoing bilateral exercise 'Samudra Shakti'. This is the 2nd edition of India, Indonesia Bilateral Naval Exercise. The inaugural edition of exercise was held at the port of Surabaya, Indonesia in November 2018.

The main objective of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices between the Navies of India and Indonesia. The joint exercises include manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises, air defence exercises, weapon firing drills, helicopter operations and boarding operations.

The harbour phase, which was conducted on November 4th and 5th 2019, included professional interactions in the form of subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE), cross deck visits, simulator drills, planning conferences, sports fixtures and social interactions.

ReSAREX-2019: It was an exercise comprised of a search and rescue workshop and table top exercise, followed by a search and rescue exercise at sea. It was a 2 day event organised by Coast Guard District Headquarters-11 (Goa). Indian Coast Guard (ICG) tested its efficiency and preparedness during the Regional Level Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise 2019 (ReSAREX- 19) conducted off Goa coast. Dornier aircraft, two Chetak helicopters  and Five ICG ships were used for the workshop. The resources from Captain of Ports, Indian Mission Control Centre (Bengaluru), Goa state administration, Goa Medical College, State Marine Police and Marmugao Port Trust were also added into service.

Maritime search and rescue still remains a challenge with increase in maritime and fishing activities, further complicated by frequent cyclones so there is a need to respond to every situation with utmost clarity, and by exercising full coordination with other support agencies. The workshop also assumes significance in the wake of recent search and rescue operations carried out during cyclones Kyaar and Maha.

People In News

Aditya Mishra: He is a Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre and is presently posted as ADG, CBCID, Uttar Pradesh Police. He has been appointed chairman of Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) on the approval of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by PM Narendra Modi. He was appointed on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection panel.

LPAI: It refers to Land Ports Authority of India. It is a statutory body set up by Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010 on 1 March 2012. It works under Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

It is responsible for developing, creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing for cross-border movement of passengers as well as goods at designated points along India’s international borders. It also manages several Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) all across Borders of India.

JCB Prize for Literature: It is an Indian literary award established in 2018. It is awarded annually with 25 lakh INR (38400 USD) prize to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or translated fiction by an Indian writer. The Literary Director is Rana Dasgupta.

JCB Prize for Literaturefor 2019 has been awarded to Madhuri Vijay for her debut novel, The Far Field. The winner was announced by Sir Mark Tully in a live broadcast on social media. Vijay has been selected from a shortlist featuring novels from five accomplished writers. She is also a recipient of  Pushcart Prize and the Henfield Prize.

The novel The Far Field is about the turbulent politics of Kashmir. The protagonist packed her privileges and curiosities, and sets off on a soul-searching journey to the mountains from her hometown, Bengaluru.

Sudarsan Pattnaik : He is an international acclaimed Sand Artist. He belongs to Odisha. He has been selected for the prestigious Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019. He will be felicitated during the International Scorrana Sand Nativity festival in Italy which will be held from November 13 to 18, 2019. Pattnaik will represent India in international Scorrana sand nativity. He has been honoured by the union government with the fourth highest civilian ‘Padma Shri’ award in 2014. He has participated in more than 60 international sand art festivals and championships around the world and won many prizes for the country. He always tries to send social message through his sand sculpture. He received a letter from the president of "Promuovi Scorrona" Vito Maraschio informing him about his selection for the award.

Neeraj Sharma: He is an Indian origin professor at the University of South Wales (UNSW)’s School of Chemistry. He is considered one of the global leaders in the use of neutron and X-ray scattering methods, is also exploring inherently safe solid-state batteries, energy-dense lithium-sulphur batteries, dual function solar batteries and methods for recycling.

He has been given the ‘Early Career Researcher of the Year award’ by the Australian government. The award was given to him for his work in lithium-ion batteries found in electronic devices, electric vehicles and the grid, as well as next-generation battery systems such as sodium-ion batteries that will leave minimal environmental impact, and transition away from fossil fuels for energy generation and transportation.

Anand : His real name is P. Satchidanandan. He was born at Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, in 1936. He graduated from the Thiruvananthapuram College of Engineering in civil engineering. He also served in the Army for about four years and retired from the Central Water Commission, Delhi, as a planning director. A sculptor as well, Anand’s repertoire includes over 30 books ranging from novels, short stories, dramas and essays. He is also a recipient of Vayalar Award and Yashpal Award.He has been selected for the 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2019 award which is being given by Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Government of Kerala. He was chosen for his overall contributions to Malayalam language and Literature.

The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram: It is the highest literary honour that is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language and consists of a cash prize of ?5,00,000 and a citation. The prize money was enhanced by ?50,000 in 2011.The award was instituted in 1993 and Sooranad Kunjan Pillai was its first recipient.

Greg Clark: He is the director of an hour long film 'Documentary on Real Kashmir FC' which was aired by BBC Scotland. His film has bagged the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) Scotland Awards 2019 in the 'Single Documentary' category at a glittering ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland.

The documentary narrates the journey of former Rangers ace David Robertson as the coach of Real Kashmir FC, which in its first season finished third in the I-League, which is currently India’s second tier football league.

Infosys Prize: It is an annual award given by the Infosys Science Foundation(ISF). It is conferred to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian Origin (not necessarily born in India). The Infosys Science Foundation is a non-profit organization. It was set up in 2009. The prize was awarded in 2008 and is ranked among the highest monetary awards in India to recognize research. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation certificate and prize money of $100,000 (around 70 lakh in Indian Rupees) and the prize purse is tax free in hands of winners in India.

The Infosys prize 2019 was awarded in six categories including Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering and Computer Sciences. The awardees were selected from 196 nominations by a panel of 6 jurors. The objective of the Infosys prize is to honour those researchers and scientists who have recorded exemplary achievements in their respective fields of scientific research. The awards to winning professors will be conferred by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. The awardees for:

1. Engineering & Computer Sciences was conferred to Sunita Sarawagi, for her research in databases, data mining, machine learning (ML) as well as natural language processing, and for important applications of these research techniques.

2. Humanities was conferred to Manu V. Devadevan, for his original and wide-ranging work on pre-modern South India.

3. Life Sciences was conferred to Manjula Reddy, for her groundbreaking discoveries concerning the structure of cell walls in bacteria.

4. Mathematical Sciences was conferred to Siddhartha Mishra, for his outstanding contributions to Applied Mathematics. This included designing numerical tools for solving problems in real world.

5. Physical Sciences was conferred to Mugesh, for his seminal work in chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

6. Social Science was conferred to Anand Pandian, for his imaginative work on ethics, selfhood and the creative process.

Abhishek Sarkar: He is a West Bengal based writer. He and Bangladeshi poet Rofiquzzaman Rony were given the Gemcon Young Literature Award and Gemcon Young Poetry Award. Abhishek and Rofiquzzaman won the awards for their manuscripts, “Nishiddho” and “Dhoashar Tamate Rong,” respectively at the 9th edition of the Dhaka Literature festival.The special focus of this year’s lit-fest is on Indigenous Languages as the UNESCO has marked 2019 as the year of Indigenous Language Protection.

Places In News

Guyana: Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state on mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east.  George Town is the capital of Guiana. Its currency is Guyanese Dollar. President of Guyana is David A.Granger and the Prime minister of is Moses Nagamootoo.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana a country of nearly 780,000, will experience the world's fastest economic growth in 2020 driven by ExxonMobil's discovery of oil. Its GDP is expected to grow more at 86% in 2020 after expanding 4.4% this year. Guyana is projecting $300 million in petroleum revenue in 2020 as ExxonMobil starts pumping from its first oil well next month. Its economy will grow more than three times within five years as the oil sector will represent about 40% of the economy within five years.

UAE: It stands for United Arab Emirates. It is an Arabian Peninsula nation settled mainly along the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. The country is a federation of 7 emirates. It's capital is Abu Dhabi and is home to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, with crystal chandeliers and room for 40,000 worshipers. Dubai is the site of ultramodern Burj Khalifa tower, enormous shopping centres and extravagant entertainment attractions. Currency of the United Arab Emirates is dirham. United Arab Emirates is the ninth-largest Middle Eastern country by population (9,154,000).

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan re-elected as President of UAE by the Supreme Council of the Union. He has been elected for a fourth five-year term, in accordance with the provisions of the UAE Constitution.

Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, born 7 September 1948 is referred to as Sheikh Khalifa). He is the current President of the United Arab Emirates, the Emir of Abu Dhabi, the Supreme Commander of the Union Defence Forceand the chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council. Sheikh Khalifa is also chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment. Authority. Sheikh Khalifa succeeded his father, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as Emir of Abu Dhabi on 2 November 2004 and became the President of the UAE the next day.

Kolkata:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially inaugurated the India fifth International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata. The Prime Minister addressed the gathering present through video-conference. The theme for this 2019 festival is , 'RISEN India - Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation'. India International Science Festival (IISF) is the largest science festival in the world.

The main objective of the festival is to instil scientific temper among people, showcase India's contribution in the field of Science and Technology and encourage translation of its benefits to people. It aims to build a strategy for inclusive advancement of Science and Technology.

Kolkata students create Guinness World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes was successfully achieved at the Science City, Kolkata on the first day of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 on Tuesday with the participation of over 1,598 students.

Kolkata, West Bengal: The third edition of women scientists’ and Entrepreneurs’ conclave will be organized at the India International Science Festival (IISF) at Kolkata on 7-8 November 2019.

The conclave aims to provide a platform for young women scientists and entrepreneurs to interact with the women leaders in science and technology. The move is to acknowledge the contribution of women in catalysing sustainable growth. Its objective is also to inspire young women to take up careers in Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship and help them get exposed to opportunities in the field. It celebrates women in science and also paves a way for more women to be part of a larger scientific community.

Himachal Pradesh: Rising Himachal Global Investors’ Meet 2019 exhibition was held in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Prime Minister Narender Modi inaugurated the two-day Global investors' summit  on the 7th of November 2019.Over 200 foreign delegates along with local entrepreneurs attended the investors Meet. Ambassadors from 16 countries too participated in the meet. It is being held to showcase investment opportunities in the state. The state government will also showcase the policy and regulatory environment and investment scope across eight focus sectors to boost manufacturing and employment opportunities in the state.

Tamil Nadu: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is an international development finance institution has approved loan of $451 million (about Rs 3,200 crore) to strengthen power connectivity between the southern and northern parts of the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu. The project will help promote economic development by delivering a more reliable and competitive power supply for industry and services in the state, which will in turn increasing jobs and improving livelihoods. According to ADB, the government will provide $202.5 million out of the total cost of the project which is $653.5 million.

ADB: It stands for the Asian Development Bank. It is an international development finance institution. Its headquarters is in Manila,Philippines.

Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC): It is a Power Sector Investment Project. Tamil Nadu Government on January 2019 passed a bill to amend Tamil Nadu Industrial Township Area Development Authority Act, 1997 (TNITADA) to turn CKIC project worth Rs.64.48 billion into reality. The project includes constructing 400- kilovolt kV network to pool power generated at renewable and thermal power plants in Thoothukudi district to Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu. An extra-high voltage 765- kV transmission link for transferring 9,000 MW of extra capacity will be established from Virudhunagar in southern CKIC northwards to major industrial centre of Coimbatore and state capital Chennai. The estimated date of completion of project is by end of 2024.

Science and Technology

SRSS-1 : It refers to Sudan’s remote-sensing satellite (SRSS-1). It is Sudan’s first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology.

It was developed by the Shenzhen Aerospace Oriental Red Sea Satellite Co. The Sudanese satellite has been mainly designed for civil and military remote sensing over Sudan. The satellite aims to generate a comprehensive, cost-effective and reliable database on the topographic, mapping and natural resources of Sudan. It also aims to acquire the required data as well as discover natural resources for the country’s military needs.

The satellite SRSS-1 was launched by China aboard China’s Long March-4B rocket along with other Chinese satellites including Gaofen 7, Xiaoxiang-1 08, Whampoa 1 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China.

Sudan: Sudan or the Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea to the east, Ethiopia to the southeast, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. It is the third-largest country in Africa. It’s predominant religion is Islam and its official languages are Arabic and English. Its capital is Khartoum, located at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile. Since 2011, Sudan is the scene of on-going military conflict in its regions South Kordofan and the Blue Nile. The President of Sudan is Omar al-Bashir. Its currency is Sudanese pound.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Red Atlas Action Plan Map’ atlas and the ‘Coastal Flood Warning System App (CFLOWS-Chennai)’ for flood mitigation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu was unveiled by the Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu. Both the atlas and the CFLOWS-Chennai are intended as decision support systems covering aspects, including preparedness and prevention. These initiatives which can effectively tackle urban flooding are likely to be replicated in other Indian cities including Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Red Atlas Action Plan Map: It is a first of its kind ready reckoner map, prepared by Union Ministry of Earth Sciences to aid state government of Tamil Nadu in effective flood mitigation in Chennai which witnessed the worst deluge in 2015.

The over 200-page atlas was prepared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) in association with TN State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and Greater Chennai Corporation. The office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Centre government, IIT-Bombay, IIT Madras and Institute of Remote Sensing of Anna University also participated from the academia.

The atlas is aimed at flood mitigation, preparedness, operations and management aspects. The manual besides showcasing the probable scenarios for different rainfall periods also provides information on corporation wards that are likely to be affected due to flooding, and the areas that may need evacuation in Chennai by taking into account all historical datasets.

Coastal Flood Warning System App (CFLOWS-Chennai): It is a complete webGIS-based decision support system. It can be used both for mitigation planning operations before flooding as well as in real time to for aspects like relief work. It also involves coupling models of regional weather forecasts, storm surges and captures about 796 flood scenarios.

SunBot: Scientists have managed to create a tiny artificial sunflower named SunBot which consists of a stem made of a material that reacts to light and an energy harvesting “flower” at the top, which is made from a standard light-absorbing material commonly used in solar cells. Each SunBOT is less than 1 millimetre wide. When part of a SunBOT’s stem is exposed to light, it heats up and shrinks. This causes the stem to bend and point the artificial flower towards the light. The stem stops bending once SunBOT is aligned with the light because the bending creates a shadow that allows the material to cool down and stop shrinking.

Wheelchair Arise: The country’s first indigenously designed standing wheelchair named as ‘Arise’ was launched by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras  in presence of Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot at the institute.

The device was designed and developed by TTK Centre for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT Madras in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems. These customised wheelchairs enable a differently-abled person to shift from sitting to standing position and vice-versa independently and also in a controlled manner. The testing partners for Arise included individual users, NGOs, hospitals, rehabilitation centres and clinicians who provided inputs.

NASA: It refers to The National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Voyager 2: Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets.Voyager 2 is now in its extended mission to study the outer reaches of the Solar System and has been operating for 42 years, 2 months and 18 days as of November 8, 2019. It remains in contact through the NASA Deep Space Network. Voyager 1 was launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2 on September 5, 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. They were launched to study planets and space beyond Earth, with differences in purpose and path. Both the vehicles have been operating for the last 42 years. The spacecraft communicates with NASA through Deep Space Network (DSN) to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth. At present, Voyager-1 is the farthest man-made object from the earth.

According to the researchers at the University of Iowa in the US, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has crossed the elusive boundary that marks the edge of the Sun's realm and the start of interstellar space. It has entered the interstellar medium (ISM), the region of space outside the bubble-shaped boundary produced by wind streaming outward from the Sun. It is a second human-made object to touch solar periphery out of the Sun's influence, following the US space agency's Voyager 1's solar exit in 2012. Voyager 2 spacecraft completed a long journey of over four decades to reach there. 

As per  the study published in the science journal Nature Astronomy, Voyager-2 entered ISM on November 5, 2019 by noting a definitive jump in plasma density detected by a plasma Wave Instrument (PWA) on the spacecraft. It sent information about the atmosphere that helped the scientists to identify its actual location.

The researchers said that the marked increase in plasma density is evidence of Voyager 2 journeying from the hot, lower-density plasma characteristic of the solar wind to the cool, higher-density plasma of interstellar space. Interstellar space is a place where warm and low-density plasma of solar winds always remains. Similar plasma density data was found from Voyager-1 when crossed into interstellar space medium (ISM). Voyager-1 crossed the solar periphery in 2012.

Sports

UWW Under-23 World Championships : World U23 Wrestling Championships is the Amateur Wrestling World Championship organized by the United World Wrestling. The tournament began in 2017.

Pooja Gehlot (53kg) claimed India's second silver medal in wrestling after going down to Japan's Haruna Okuno in the finals of the UWW Under-23 World Championships in Budapest. She lost 0-2 to Okuno in the summit clash.

Sajan Bhanwal (77kg) who is a three-time World Junior Championships medallist, fell short of winning a bronze medal in Greco-Roman category (77kg). He lost to Turkey's Serkan Akkoyun.

Ravinder (61kg), had won India's first silver earlier this week.

Asian Shooting Championship: The Asian Shooting Championships are governed by the Asian Shooting Confederation. Asian Shooting Championships began in 1967. These championships, including almost all ISSF shooting events, are held every four years.

Deepak Kumar won the bronze medal in the men's 10m air rifle in shooting at the 14th Asian Championships and secured 2020 Tokyo Olympics Quota He shot 227.8 in the eight-man final to finish third. He is the second Indian shooter to earn an Olympic quota in the men's 10 metres air rifle event after Divyansh Singh Panwar, who secured it in April. He had won a bronze medal at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara last year.

Haryana sensation Manu Bhaker won gold in women's 10m air pistol event while Vivaan Kapoor and Manisha Keer won in the junior trap mixed event at the Asian Shooting Championships. Manu Bhaker who represented India at the 2018 ISSF World Cup and won two gold medals is also the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup. She won the gold medal in women's 10 m air pistol event at 2018 Commonwealth Games just at the age of 16 in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance. She has already secured an Olympic quota at the Munich World Cup in May.

India has already secured nine Tokyo quotas in rifle and pistol and lies behind China (25 quotas) and Korea (12) in the Asian region, besides the host-country Japan (12 allotted slots), in terms of quotas won.

Paris Masters title: The Paris Masters (in French commonly referred as Bercy) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Accor Hotels Arena, in the neighbourhood of Bercy. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal secures No 1 spot for eighth time in his career in the ATP rankings. He goes up one place to overtake Novak Djokovic even though the Serb sealed his fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Nadal's eight stints at No. 1 equal the mark of Ivan Lendl, trails Americans John McEnroe (14), Pete Sampras (11), Jimmy Connors (9) for most periods at No. 1. He has now been in the top spot at some stage in nine of the past 12 years (2008-11, 2013-14, 2017-19).

SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament : The SaarLorLux Open, previously known as BMW Badminton Cup, BMW Open, Bitburger Masters and Bitburger Open, is an international badminton tournament held in Germany since 1988. It is sponsored by the German pilsner beer brewery Bitburger and German automobile company BMW.

India's 18 year old Lakshya Sen who is World number 51 has won the SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament at Saarbrücken in Germany. He defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of China in an exciting final. He had entered the final beating Kiran George in an all-Indian semi-finals.

Indian Women's national Cricket Team: The India women's national cricket team, nicknamed the Women in Blue, represents the country of India in international women's cricket. India made its Test debut in 1976, against the West Indies, and its One Day International debut at the 1978 World Cup, which it hosted.

Indian Women's Cricket won the three match series 2-1 beating the West Indies by 6 wickets in the 3rd and final ODI match in North Sound, Antigua. They achieved the victory target of 195 runs comfortably with 47 balls to spare. Smriti Mandhana  from the Indian team was the highest scorer with 74 off 63 balls.

T201: Twenty20 cricket, also called T20 is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces twenty overs. It was introduced in 2003 with rule changes that put a premium on hitting and scoring, gaining a new audience for cricket. The matches have top-class status and are the highest T20 standard. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first Twenty20 International match between two men's sides was played on 17 February 2005, involving Australia and New Zealand

India vs Bangladesh 2nd T20I: The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side break Australia’s world record with massive win over Bangladesh in 2nd T20I at Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot. India defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets. Rohit Sharma was declared 'Player of the Match' for his 85 off just 43 balls. He made many records during the match. He became the first Indian cricketer to play 100 T20 International cricket matches. He is currently the only Indian batsman with the most sixes in T20. He has scored more than 75 runs in T20 matches for the 10th time, making him the first player to do so in T20 cricket. He also broke Australian cricketer Don Bradman's record of highest average in Test cricket on home soil during the Day 2 of India’s third test against South Africa at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on October 20, 2019.

Rohit Sharma is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket and captains Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League as a right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm off break bowler. He is the vice-captain of the Indian national team in limited-overs formats.

Shubam Gill: He is a 20 year old right-hand, top-order batsman from Punjab. He made his first-class debut for Punjab against Bengal in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, in late 2017. He made his international debut for the India cricket team in January 2019.

He made his way into the record books when he walked out to lead India C in the 47th Deodhar Trophy final against India B on Monday at the JKCA International Complex in Ranchi. He has became the youngest-known captain to lead a side in the Deodhar Trophy final. He broke India captain Virat Kohli’s 10-year-old record. Kohli had led North Zone in the Deodhar Trophy final when he was 21 years and 124 days old in 2009-10. Gill is only 20 years and 57 days old.

Arts

Udyanotsav: It is the festival that is open to public every year in February to March. It is a gardening festival of the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The gardens are a blend of the Mughal and English style of gardening which is inspired by the Persian Charbagh style. It is replete with canals, fountains, elaborate flower beds, well-trimmed shrubs, and a near endless variety of flowers.

The President of India Shri Ramnath Kovind inaugurated the annual “Udyanotsav” of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Mughal Gardens will remain open for the general public from February 5, 2020 to March 08, 2020. The main attraction this year at Udyanotsav, beside Tulips and Exotic flowers, are bulbous flowerings. Around 10 thousand Tulips are specially cultivated in Mughal Gardens and they are in vivid colours of red, orange, white, and yellow. Flower Carpets in magnificent designs will also be on display in the Central Lawns revealing the skill and craft of the gardeners of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Rajasthan: Rajasthan is a state in northern India. It comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert (also known as the "Great Indian Desert"). It shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus river valley. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. Its capital is Jaipur. The Governor and Chief Minister of Rajasthan are Kalraj Mishra and Ashok Gehlot respectively.

Recently, UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) ceritfied Pink City of Jaipur as the World Heritage site. The UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay visited India to present the certificate. The World Heritage City certificate was handed over by UNESCO Director General to Minister of Urban Development Shanti Dhariwal.

The historic walled city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, was founded in 1727 AD under the patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. It serves as the capital city of the culturally-rich state of Rajasthan.

Mystic Kalinga Literary Award: Mystic Kalinga Literary Award has been instituted to recognize and celebrate prolific and inspiring writers, poets and performers. This prestigious Award carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh along with a khadi shawl and certificate for the laureate.

The prestigious Mystic Kalinga Literary Award (Indian and Global Languages) was presented to the noted Odia and English writer Manoj Das. He was presented the award at the Mystic Kalinga Festival (MKF) held at Bhubneswar, Odisha for his significant contribution to the literature and culture of Odia. Manoj Das who is currently teaching English literature and Philosophy at the Sri Aurobindo International University in Puducherry was recently conferred Padma Bhushan, the country's third-highest civilian award. He had also been conferred with the Saraswati Samman award.

Economics

Union Budget: The Union Budget of India also referred to as the Annual Financial Statement in the Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India. The Government presents it on the first day of February so that it could be materialized before the beginning of new financial year in April.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her second and 90th Union Budget of India for 2020-2021 in the Lok Sabha. The Finance Minister unveiled a series of far-reaching reforms, aimed at energizing the Indian economy through a combination of short-term, medium-term, and long term measures. The government has taken some measures towards reaching the target of a $5 trillion economy by the end of 2022.

The Budget introduced several new schemes besides allocating new funds for the already running Government schemes such as PM-Kisan, Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat Mission, and others. The Union Budget 2020-2021 aims to boost incomes and enhance purchasing power.

The Union Budget has been structured on the overall theme of Ease of Living. The three prominant themes around which the budget has been woven are Aspirational India, Economic Development and Caring Society.

1. Aspirational India:

Under this theme, Union Budget 2020-21 with an allocation of Rs. 4,82401 cr focused on the aspects of:-

a. Agriculture, Irrigation, and Rural Development

b. Wellness, Water, and Sanitation Development and

c. Education and Skills Development

So that all sections of the society could seek better standards of living, with access to health, education and better jobs.

2. Economic development:

Under this theme, economic development for all i.e. – is ensuring SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas, SabkaVishwas”. Union Budget 2020-21 allocated a sum of Rs 2,37,604 cr for:-

a. Industry, Commerce and Investment

b. Infrastructure

c. New economy — led by startups and the tech ecosystem.

3. Caring Society:

Under this theme, the main focus was on creating a caring society which is both humane and compassionate a sum of Rs 62,626 cr was allocated.

a. Women & child

b. Social Welfare

c. Culture and Tourism.

d. Environment and Climate Change

The above themes are held together by Corruption free as well as policy-driven good governance and clean and sound financial sector.

The Key Budget Highlights are:-

INCOME TAX:

The income tax rates have been revised.

5% tax for in11come between Rs 2.5-5 lakh

10% tax for income between Rs 5-7.5 lakh as against 20%

15% tax for income between Rs 7.5-10 lakh as against 20%

20% tax for income between Rs 10-12.5 lakh as against 30%

25% tax for income between Rs 12.5-15 lakh as against 30%

30% tax for income above Rs 15 lakh

The Finance Minister said that the income tax rates would be significantly reduced for those who forego reliefs, exemptions.

HEALTHCARE

Rs 690 billion will be spent toward healthcare spending

TRANSPORT

100 more airports are planned by 2024.

Over 6,000 km of highways in 12 lots will be monetized by 2024.

One major airport will be privatized.

High-speed train between Mumbai and Ahmadabad will be actively pursued.

16-POINT ACTION PLAN FOR FARMERS

According to the Finance Minister, the government is committed to doubling farmers' income by 2022. She proposed to allocate Rs 2.83 lakh crore for agriculture and rural sectors such as irrigation.

MANUFACTURING

Those schemes that encourage manufacturing of mobile phones, electronic equipment and semiconductor packaging will be introduced

Private sector to build Data Centre Parks throughout the country will be encouraged.

80 billion rupees over five years to be provided for quantum technologies and applications and

Milk processing capacity which is to be doubled by 2025.

BANKING/INSURANCE

Insurance cover for bank depositors to be raised to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh

INFRASTRUCTURE

5 new smart cities in public-private partnership mode.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to be completed by 2023.

100 more airports to be developed by 2024.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the estimated nominal GDP growth rate for 2020-21 is 10 per cent. She further added that wealth creators would be respected in this country and tax harassment would not be tolerated.

RBI: It refers to Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank, which controls the issue and supply of the Indian rupee. RBI is the regulator of entire Banking in India. RBI plays an important part in the Development Strategy of the Government of India. RBI was set up in 1935 in Kolkata under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. It is headquartered in Mumbai. The 25th Governor of RBI is Shaktikant Das.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct the “Financial Literacy Week 2020” from February 10 to 14, 2020.

The theme of the Financial Literacy Week 2020 is “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”.

The Financial Literacy Week 2020 will aim to aware people about the formalization, collateral free loan, discounting of receivables, rehabilitation of stressed units and timely repayment.

Financial Literacy Week (FLW) is being conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) every year since 2016 to disseminate financial education messages on a particular theme across the country.

Defence

11th DefExpo 2020: The 11th edition of biennial Defence Expo-2020 was held in Lucknow the capital of Uttar Pradesh on the 5th of February 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the inaugural Ceremony. The main theme of DefExpo India-2020 was “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub”. The aim of this 5-day event is to cover the entire spectrum of the country's aerospace, defence and security interests. The objective of the event was also to bring the leading technologies in the defence sector under one roof and provide a myriad of opportunities for the government, private manufacturers, and startups. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in coordination with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had organized the event.

More than 200 partnerships involving Signing of MoUs, Transfer of Technology (ToTs) , Product launches were concluded on the third day of DefExpo 2020, at ceremony tilted “Bandhan.” The pacts were signed by representatives of various DPSUs, Indian private Defence and foreign companies in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The MoUs were signed to achieve Prime Minister’s 5 billion dollar defence exports target in next 5 years.

The Bandhan ceremony witnessed more than 13 product launches, 124 MoUs between DPSUs, private and global defence manufacturing companies. 23 MoUs were signed between the UP Government and private companies. 71 MoUs were also inked including 14 between Indian and Russian companies.

During the event, the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate for Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Light Utility Helicopter (LUH): The LUH is a single-engine, lightweight and highly agile three-ton utility helicopter. It is indigenously designed and developed to meet the operational requirements of the Army and the Indian Air Force. The LUH will soon replace the ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. Amogha-3 and Varunastra was also launched by BDL in the event.

Amogha-3: It is the third generation anti-Tank Guided Missile. It is designed and developed by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) with support of DRDO. It's first model was handed over to Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.

Varunastra: The Varunastra is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo. It was developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory of the DRDO for the Indian Navy.

IAF: It refers Indian Air Force. IAF is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. The motto of the Indian Air Force: Nabha Sprsham Deeptam which means 'The Glory that touches the sky'. The Air Chief Marshal of India is Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

Recently, the indigenous bio-jet fuel aircraft AN-32 of Indian Air Force powered with 10% blend of bio-jet fuel took off and landed successfully in Leh airport.

This is for the first time that both engines of the aircraft were powered by the bio-jet indigenous fuel.

The bio-jet fuel is manufactured from “Tree-Borne oils” which are grown and procured from Chhattisgarh tribal areas. This will help in reducing India’s dependence on crude oil imports and also will assist in reducing carbon e---------------------------------------------------------------------------------missions.

Leh: Leh is located at an altitude of 10,682 ft above mean sea level. It is amongst one of the world's highest and most difficult operational airfield as it is prone to extreme weather conditions. Even when the weather condition is clear in Leh, the landing and taking off an aircraft is chalenging due to reduced power output of the aircraft engines in the rarefied atmosphere, turbulent wind conditions and proximity of mountainous terrain.

Matla Abhiyan: It is unique coastal security exercise conducted by Indian Navy. The Matla Abhiyan was organized in Kolkata, West Bengal. This exercise is named after the river Matla. The main aim of this exercise is to interact with local coastal communities to spread awareness on coastal security and understand the navigational complexities in the Sunderban deltaic waters.

Under the exercise, two naval boats were flagged off to move along the river Matla in the Sundarbans region up to Hemnagar along the International Trade Protocol route between India and Bangladesh. This route was chosen by the Indian Navy as this route is sensitive and deadly equipment can be dropped off easily.

Indian Navy: The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. It was founded in 5 September 1612. The Navy Day is observed annually on the 4th of December.The Current, Chief of Naval Staff is Admiral Karambir Singh.

Environment

Locusts invasion: Locust invasion occurs when locust (family- Acrididae) swarms devastate crops and cause major agricultural damage and attendant human misery—famine and starvation. They occur in many parts of the world, but today locusts are most destructive in sustenance farming regions of Africa. The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is notorious.

Recently, Pakistan and Somalia declared locusts a ‘national emergency’ after worst locust invasion.

These insects have caused major damage to the food supply in one of the world’s poorest countries & and most vulnerable regions in the world. Somalia is the 1st country to make such a declaration. The country's declaration aims to intensify the national effort to combat these insects.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan too has declared a national emergency due to the massive locusts attack. These locusts have destroyed entire crops in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The National Action Plan (NAP) now needs Rs 730 crore to overcome this crisis.

WHO: It is an acronym of World Health Organization. WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.

WHO has declared an international emergency over the novel corona virus from China. The organization has declared an emergency as the disease has spread to 18 other countries apart from China where it originated.

As the disease can spread through human-to-human contact it is becoming more dangerous. According to WHO, there are more than 7,711 confirmed cases and 12,167 suspected cases all over the world. The spread of the disease now fulfils the criteria of Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) that is why emergency has been declared.

----------------------------------------------------------------The declaration of a global emergency triggers recommendations to all countries. It is aimed at preventing or reducing t-------------------------------------------------------------------------------he cross-border spread of disease.

Wetlands: Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, fens, rivers, floodplains, and swamps. Coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and even coral reefs. Fish ponds, rice paddies, and salt pans are human-made wetlands. Wetlands are a habitat for a dense variety of plant and animal species and also rich with the biodiversity which is declining according to the researchers estimates.

World Wetlands Day: It is celebrated globally on the 2nd of February every year to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The main aim of celebrating the day is to raise the awareness about the crucial role played by wetlands for people and our planet.

The theme of World Wetlands Day 2020 is “Wetlands and Biodiversity”. The theme indicates a unique opportunity to highlight the declining status of the wetland biodiversity. Its aim is make aware and take actions for conservation of wetlands to reverse its losses. The wetlands are estimated to be disappearing with the declining rate of three times faster than forests.

The Ramsar Sites in India are Deepor Beel in Assam, East Calcutta Wetlands in West Bengal, Chilka Lake in Orissa, Chandertal Wetland in Himachal Pradesh, Bhoj Wetlands in Madhya Pradesh, Asthamudi Wetland in Kerala and Bhitarkanika Mangroves in Orissa.

Indian polity

Gram Nyayalayas: Gram Nyayalayas are village courts which were established for speedy and easy access to the justice system in the rural areas across the country at their door steps. The main aim of the judicial body is to provide inexpensive justice in rural areas.

For the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas Parliament enacted Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008. The Act came into force from 2 October 2009. As per the ACt, a Gram Nyayalaya can have jurisdiction over an area specified by a notification by the State Government in consultation with the respective High Court. As specified in the First, Second and Third schedule of the Act, Gram Nyayalayas have both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the offences and nature of suits. Gram Nyayalayas have to follow special procedures in civil matters, in a manner it deems just and reasonable in the interest of justice and can also allow for conciliation of the dispute and settlement of the same in the first instance.

Recently, The Supreme Court of India has directed the state governments to issue notifications establishing “Gram Nyayalayas” within 4 weeks. The apex court of India has also asked the High Courts to accelerate consultation with department concerned on the matter.

A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana took into account the fact that several States have issued notifications for establishing “Gram Nyayalayas” but the only ones in Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are functioning. The bench also noted that the States of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Odisha have not yet filed their affidavits in compliance with the earlier directions issued by it.

At present, only 208 Gram Nyayalayas are functioning as against 2,500 required to function according to the 12th five-year plan.

Union Cabinet: The Union Council of Ministers exercises executive authority in the Republic of India. It consists of senior ministers, called 'cabinet ministers', junior ministers called 'ministers of state' and, rarely, deputy ministers. It is led by the Prime Minister. A smaller executive body called the Union Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in India. The prime minister and ministers of the rank of cabinet minister can only be the members of the Union Cabinet in accordance with Article 75.

Recently, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to bring cooperative banks under the regulatory mechanism of Reserve Bank of India. The cabinet on 5 february 2020 approved amendments to the Banking Regulation Act thus allowing multi-state cooperative banks to come under the regulation of the RBI. The announcement was made by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadkar after a cabinet meeting. This move aims to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the functioning of Cooperative Banks and also to prevent crisis situations that Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank faced.

The cabinet has also approved the IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020. According to the bill, 5 IIITs in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at Surat, Bhagalpur, Bhopal, Agartala, and Raichur are to be declared as institutions of national importance. Now, at present the number of Institutions of National importance has gone upto 25.

Indian Policy

PFRDA: It refers to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The PFRDA is a statutory body. It is the pension regulator of India. It was established by Government of India on 23 August 2003 and was authorized by Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The Chairperson of PFRDA is Hemant G. Contractor.

Recently, PFRDA, the regulator of the National Pension System (NPS), has made certain amendments in the pension guidelines. It has doubled the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers to Rs 50 crore from Rs 25 crore. This enhancement in the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers will bring pension funds on par with mutual funds which have to meet a minimum net worth requirement of Rs 50 crores as per Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rules.

Provision for licenses to have indefinite validity has also been made so that it will help the pension sector to grow to new levels. Previously, the licenses of pension fund managers was granted for a period of 5 years but now the license will remain valid until it is cancelled by the regulator.

Ministry of Tourism: The Ministry of Tourism, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to the development and promotion of tourism in India. It was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in New Delhi. This Ministry is headed by the Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Prahlad Singh Patel.

Recently, in order to provide an impetus to tourism the Ministry of Tourism sanctioned 7 projects worth Rs. 594 Crores for UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. It was sanctioned under its schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD which provides financial assistance to State Governments / UT Administrations, including J&K and Ladakh, for development of tourism infrastructure.

MPEDA: It refers to Marine Products Export Development Authority. MPEDA is a company of the Government of India. It is headquartered at Kochi. It was constituted on 24 August 1972, under the Marine Products Export Development Authority Act 1972 (No. 13 of 1972). MPEDA functions under the Department of Commerce, Government of India and acts as a coordinating agency with different Central and State Government establishments engaged in fishery production and allied activities. The role of MPEDA under the statute is comprehensive - covering fisheries of all kinds, increasing exports, specifying standards, processing, marketing, extension and training in various aspects of the industry.

Recently, MPEDA along with the Central government has proposed to take up the upgradation and modernization of 25 fishing harbours in the country. The estimated outlay of the project is Rs.2500 crore. The Project aims to increase the value addition of marine products which was around 5% in India compared with 50% in South East Asian countries.

Under the project, two harbours namely Thoppumpady in Kochi, Kerala and Nizampatnam in Andhra Pradesh would be developed into harbours of international standards in the first phase of the modernisation programme.

The project includes preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) for harbour modernisation. The work for this project has been entrusted to Ernst and Young.

After getting approval for the Detailed Project Planning (DPR), MPEDA plans to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the implementation of the project.

International

World Cancer Day: World Cancer Day was established on 4 February 2000 at the World Cancer Summit Against Cancer for the New Millenium, which was held in Paris. February 4 is celebrated globally to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that cancer cases will rise by 81% in low and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care.

The 2019-2021 campaign theme this year is 'I Am and I Will'. The theme seeks raise awareness against the negative attitude and fatalistic belief that nothing can be done about cancer. It instead promotes how our personal actions can have a powerful impact on the future. It reflects on how every individual can do to raise awareness of cancer and asks to take pledge and action in fight against cancer.

World Cancer Day started a three-year campaign under the tagline of 'We can. I can.' from 2016 to 2018.

Iraq: Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital, city of Iraq is Baghdad. The currency used here is Iraqi dinar.

Recently, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Iraq. He was appointed by President Barhim Salih. He will be replacing Adil Abdul-Mahdi who resigned in November 2019 due to anti-government protests.

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi is an Iraqi politician who has been serving as the current Iraqi Prime Minister since February 2020. He served twice as communications minister under Former PM Nouri al-Maliki from May 2006 until August 2007 and from 2010 to 2012.

Maldives: The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a small independent island nation in South Asia. It is located in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 1,000 kilometres from the Asian continent. Its capital is Male. The currency used here is Maldivian rufiyaa.

Recently, Maldives rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations association and became its 54th member. This was announced by the Commonwealth secretary general Patricia Scotland on 1 February 2020. Maldives had become its member in 1982 but had left the Commonwealth association in 2016 under President Abdulla Yameen citing that their treatment by Commonwealth was “unjust and unfair”.

This island nation was welcomed in the Commonwealth only after ensuring Maldives’ alignment with the values and principles of the Commonwealth and also after consulting other Commonwealth nations. The country will now be a part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda on 22nd June to 28th June 2020.

President Ibrahim “Ibu” Mohamed Solih who was elected in 2018 had reapplied for the membership.

The "Commonwealth of Nations" is a political association of countries that were mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal countries. The Commonwealth Secretariat which was established in 1965 supports Commonwealth member countries to achieve development, democracy and peace.

Srilanka: Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. The capital of Sri Lanka is Colombo. The currency used here is Sri Lankan rupee. The President and the Prime Minister are Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa respectively.

Recently, on 4th February 2020, Srilanka celebrated its 72nd Independence Day. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presided over the celebrations. On this day, Sri Lanka became an independent nation after getting independence from Britain. The National anthem in the event this year was only sung only in Sinhalese. Since 2016, the national anthem was sung in both Sinhalese and Tamil in the main ceremony.

United States: The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico. U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C. The currency used here is United States Dollar.

Recently, the President of United States Donald Trump has been acquitted of all impeachment charges in his US Senate impeachment trial. The US Senate acquitted President Trump on two articles of impeachment that are the abuse of power and obstruction to Congress. The votes to convict Trump fell far short of the two-thirds majority required in the 100-seat Senate to remove him from office under the U.S. Constitution. The ruling Republican party has 53 seats while the Democrats have 47. He can now concentrate on running for re-election.

Donald Trump, the 45th and incumbent president of the United States was placed on impeachment trial charging him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The impeachment trial began in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2020, and concluded on February 5. It was only the third impeachment trial of a president in US history. In 1868, Andrew Johnson was impeached but was acquitted by the Senate. In 1974, Richard Nixon faced an inquiry, but he resigned before he could be impeached. In 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached but was acquitted by the Senate. After an impeachment inquiry between September to November 2019, President Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019.

National

India-Maldives: India and Maldives on 2nd February 2020 signed 5 MoUs for establishing the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu atoll at a cost of 2.49 million dollars. A 6th MoU to set up a bottled water plant in Hoarafushi was also signed. All six projects are grant projects which falls under India’s High Impact Community Development Scheme (HICDP).

The MOUs were signed between the High Commissioner of India Sunjay Sudhir, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid and Addu City Council.

The 5 MoUs were signed for establishing the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu atoll. The main of the MoU is to establish the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu atoll which will not only generate local employment but also enhance eco-tourism opportunities in Addu. It will also enhance partnership between the two countries. Addu is a city in Maldives that contains several inhabited Islands.

IOC: It refers to Indian Oil Corporation. Indian Oil Corporation Limited, commonly known as IndianOil is an Indian government owned oil and gas company. It was founded in 1959. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest commercial oil company in the country. The current Chairman of Indian Oil Corp is Sanjiv Singh.

Recently IOC signed its 1st term contract for Russian crude oil. The contract was signed to import up to 2 million tonne of Urals grade crude oil from Rosneft of Russia.

AS India is the 3rd largest Energy Consumer in the world, India imports globally 83% of oil to meet its oil need. Two-thirds of the imports come from the Middle East, Iraq being the biggest supplier followed by Saudi Arabia. India in its efforts to diversify sourcing of crude oil (Importing crude oil from non-OPEC countries) and in enhancing India’s energy security has signed the deal with Russia.

International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy: It is an annual award constituted by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation. The foundation was established in 1950. Since then, it has been leading the efforts to completely eradicate the disease and erase the stigma surrounding it. The award has been launched to commemorate the compassion of Mahatma Gandhi as he was a big crusader against leprosy and he carried great compassion for patients with leprosy. The awards aim to recognize the work of individuals and organizations who have worked tirelessly to fight this disease and the prejudices associated with it.

Recently, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented the International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy for the year 2019 in New Delhi.

The award under the Indian nomination (individual) category was presented to Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu and the award under the institutional category was awarded to Leprosy Mission Trust.

The President also announced that India has accomplished the level of leprosy elimination which is defined as less than one case per ten thousand population.

India-Central Asia Business Council: The first ever India-Central Asia Business Council meeting was launched in New Delhi on 6th February 2020. The event was organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the meeting. The aim of the meeting was to bring together business chambers of India and all five Central Asian states, namely Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to collaborate and strengthen trade and investment partnership. The main focus will be on oil and gas, renewable and non-renewable energy, life sciences, pharmaceutical, agro-food processing, IT, urban infrastructure, tourism and transport.

The council is the result of India and Central Asian dialogue held in Samarkand, January 2019. The Dialogue and the Council formed are part of India’s Central Asia Policy. India, under Central Asia Policy aims to not only build strong political relations but also to strengthen security cooperation.

People In News

Shaktikanta Das: Shaktikanta Das (born 26 February 1957) is an Indian retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. He is currently serving as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20.

Recently, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has been named the ‘Central Banker of the Year 2020’ for the Asia-Pacific region. He was chosen by financial intelligence magazine The Banker. He won the accolade for bringing in measures to tighten the rules around NBFCs. According to The Banker, the award is presented to the bankers who have “best managed to stimulate growth and stabilize their economy.

M Ajit Kumar: He is a 1984 batch IRS officer hailing from Kozhikode. He was earlier a Member (Administration and Vigilance) in CBIC. He has worked in many capacities in the department including Directorate of Vigilance in New Delhi, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in Mumbai, Principal Chief Commissioner of GST Zone for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs zones in Chennai. He is also a recipient of the World Customs Organization certificate of merit for the year 2019.

Recently, he was appointed as Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) by the Government of India. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment. The new Chairman’s immediate responsibilities will include accelerating the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues and to deal with the changes introduced in customs duties in the Union Budget for 2020.

CBIT: It refers to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. It was founded in 1 January 1964. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Pramod Agrawal: He is a 1991 batch IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer. He served as the principal secretary for urban development and housing department in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Bhopal.

Recently, He assumed charge as the new chairman and managing director of Coal India Ltd. He succeeded Anil Kumar Jha who retired on 31st January 2020.

Gopal Baglay: He has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He will be replacing Taranjit Sandhu, who has currently been appointed as Indian Ambassador to U.S. At present, Gopal Baglay is serving as Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister of India’s (PMO) Office.

Places In News

Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area. It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is Kamal Nath and the Governor of Madhya Pradesh is Lal Ji Tandon.

Recently, Madhya Pradesh won the award for implementation of PMMVY.The award was presented by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smrity Irani to Madhya Pradesh Minister for Women and Child Development Imarti Devi and Principal Secretary Anupam Rajan for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana in MP. Indore district bagged the first place for better performance of the PMMVY scheme.

PMMVY: It refers to Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana. This initiative is a maternity benefit program run by the government of India. It was introduced in 2016 and is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Under the programme, a cash amount of Rs 5000 is provided to pregnant women and lactating mothers. The scheme provides compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.

Jammu Kashmir: It is the new Union Territory which came into existance after Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, was passed by both houses of the Parliament of India in August 2019.

Recently, the Minister of North Eastern Development Dr Jitendra Singh chaired the meeting to fast track the implementation of Ujh Multipurpose (National) Project, Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Power and other officers from state government of Punjab.

The Meeting was held to fast track complete utilization of India’s rights under Indus Water Treaty. The project which is to be constructed on across River Ujh is a tributary of River Ravi. This project will not only help India utilize the waters of Eastern Rivers but also help to store 781 million cubic meters of water of River Ujh.

Indus Water Treaty: The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan. The treaty was signed on September 19, 1960. The signing of the treaty was brokered by the World Bank. As per the agreement, the waters of eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej were given to India and the control over waters flowing in the western rivers Indus, Chenab and Jhelum were given to Pakistan.

Guwahati: Guwahati is the largest city in the Northeastern Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in the northeastern India.

Recently, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) signed MoU with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI). The MoU was signed to set up a Liaison Office in Guwahati, Assam with an aim to provide technical support to the food industries in the North East region.

CSIR−CFTRI: It is an acronym for Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Food Technological Research Institute. It is one of the constituent laboratory under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It was opened on 21 October 1950 in Mysore, Karnataka. The pioneering Institute works in the area of Food Science and Technology and Human Resource Development.

Telangana: Telangana is a state in India situated on the centre-south stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. Its capital is Hyderabad. The Chief Minister and the Governor of Telangana is K. Chandrashekar Rao and Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan respectively.

Recently, India’s biggest rural technical festival named 'Antahpragnya 2020' was held in Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Basar, Nirmal District, Telangana. District Collector of Nirmal, M Prashanthi, inaugurated the festival. The theme for this year's festival was “Spot and encourage rural tech innovators”. It was organized by the team of Antahpragnya in collaboration with SSERD (Society for Space Education, Research and Development) with an aim to create awareness about the exciting career in space.

The festival showcased 300 prototypes, working models, exhibits technologies such as automatic switch for water, homemade electricity, smoke absorber, automatic street lighting system, smart dustbins, zero budget farming, automatic irrigation and others.
Maharashtra: Maharashtra is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. The state was founded on 1 May 1960. The day is celebrated as Maharashtra Day in the state. The capital of Maharashtra is Mumbai. The Governor and Chief Minister of Maharashtra are Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Uddhav Thackeray respecitvely.

Recently, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its in-principle approval for setting up a Major Port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra. The new major port will be developed on land lord model. Total cost of the project is likely to be around Rs.65,544 crore.

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be formed with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner with equity participation equal to or more than 50% to implement the project.

The SPV will be responsible for the development of the port infrastructure, including construction of breakwater, reclamation with the establishment of connectivity to the hinterland. All the business activities would be undertaken under public private partnership (PPP) mode by private developers.

With the development of Vadhavan port, India is expected to enter the list of top 10 container ports in the world.

Science and Technology

DST: It refers to Department of Science and Technology. The DSF works under the Ministry of Science and Technology. It was founded in May 1971. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Recently, DST launched a special scheme called “Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI)”. The scheme aims to create shared, professionally managed and strong Science and Technology infrastructure in India. The SATHI scheme will enable academia, start-ups, manufacturing, industry and R&D labs to offer high-end analytical testing. This will not only help to avoid duplication, reduce the dependency on foreign sources but also foster a strong culture of collaboration between institutions.
Christina Koch: She is a 41 year old astronaut from USA. She broke the world record for the most time spent by a woman in space. She has spent 328 days on International Space Station (ISS), surpassing the previous record of 289 days was held by fellow American Peggy Whitson.

She returned home safely after an 11 month mission.

Sports

Australian Open 2020: The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, junior's championships, and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. The Australian Open was started in 1905 in only Men Singles category, by the Lawn Tennis Association of Australasia (Now Australia) and the first the category “Women’s Singles” was held in 1922.

Novak Djokovic beat Austrian Dominic Thiem in five sets to successfully defend his Australian Open men’s singles title in Melbourne, Australia. He has become only the 3rd man to win at least 8 titles. He has also become the first tennis player in the Open Era of men’s singles tennis to win a Grand Slam in 3 different decades. Ken Rosewall from Australia won Grand Slam titles in 3 different decades between the 1950s and 1970s but not all of them came in the Open Era. Novak Djokovic is now only 2 behind Rafael Nadal (19) and 3 behind Roger Federer (20) on the elite list which is being dominated by the Big Three since the start of the new millennium.

Sofia Kenin defeated Garbiñe Muguruza to win the Women’s Singles title.

Rubigula: It is a Flame-Throated Bulbul. It is the state bird of Goa. Rubigula has been unveiled as the official mascot for the Goa 2020 National Games in Panaji, Goa. The State will be hosting the 36th edition of the National Games from 20th October to 4th November 2020. The event will see participation by 36 states and union territories, 12,000 athletes, officials and will host 37 sports disciplines across 24 venues in Goa. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju and the Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant were present at the unveiling ceremony.

National Weightlifting Championships: Arunachal Pradesh'a weightlifter Sambo Lapung created a new record of 188 kg in clean and jerk event in the National Weightlifting Championships. The previous national record of clean and jerk was 187 kg. He has also won the Gold medal in the Men’s 89 kg category of the National Weightlifting Championships that was held in Kolkata.

In the 35th Senior Women's National Weightlifting Championships, Rakhi Halder from West Bengal won the Gold medal in 64kg category. She lifted 93 kg in snatch and 117 kg in clean and jerk to won the Gold medal. The 35th edition of Senior Women's National Weightlifting Championships has been held at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in Kolkata.

Deepa Malik: She is an Indian para-athlete. She has been elected as the President of the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI). She replaced Gursharan Singh, who is the acting interim president. She is also the recepient of the Padmashri Award in 2017 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2019.

Ironman Triathlon: An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It consists of swim, bicycle ride and a run, raced in that order. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

Niket Dalal, a 38-year-old from Aurangabad has created history by becoming the first completely visually-challenged athlete to finish an Ironman triathlon.

He completed the grueling Ironman 70.3 — consisting of a 1.9 km swim, a 90 km bicycle ride and a 21.1 km run — with assistance from his sighted companion, Arham Shaikh. Mr. Shaikh is the youngest Indian to finish the 5000 km coast-to-coast cross-country race in the U.S.

The race was completed in seven hours and 44 minutes, with 46 mins to spare by Dalal and Mr. Shaikh. They both stood second in their category of physically disabled athletes, and were the first Indian team to finish a Ironman 70.3 triathlon.

Mo O’Brien: She is a 60-year-old pharmacy worker. She has become the first deaf person on record to row an ocean by finishing a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic with her daughter Bird Watts, and their friend Claire Allinson. The Ocean Rowing Society, which is responsible for monitoring ocean rowing records, confirmed that she is the world first deaf person who rowed almost 3,000 miles (4,800km) of the Atlantic Ocean.

Arts

Chapchar Kut: The Chapchar Kut the biggest, joyful and most important festival of Mizoram, India. It is a spring festival celebrated by Mizos usually in March after completion of the Jhum cultivation. This festival is a public holiday in the state.

Recently, the Mizo spring festival 'Chapchar Kut' was celebrated across the state of Mizoram. However, the celebrations started yesterday with mega event holding at the Assam Rifles Ground at Aizawl where the State Art & Culture Minister R Lalzirliana welcomed all people to participate in the fun and amusement events organized during the festival. Traditional bamboo dance known as the Cheraw and other dances were performed at the main event which attracted thousands of people.

Jhum cultivation: Jhum cultivation or Shifting cultivation is a primitive practice of cultivation in States of North Eastern Hill Region of India and people involved in such cultivation are called Jhumia.

It is also known as the slash and burn agriculture, is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and burning them thereafter. The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.

Shifting Cultivation is known as Taungya In Myanmar, Ladang in Indonesia, Caingin in Philippines, Milpa in central America & Mexico, Ray in Vietnam, Tamrai in Thailand, Chena in Sri Lanka, Conuco in Venezuela, Roca in Brazil and Masole in central Africa. 

Orchha: It is a town in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh. Orchha is a famous tourist destination. It is famous for its Ramaraja temple as well as other historical buildings. Orchha has won the Best Heritage City at the National Tourism Awards 2017-18 and is on the shortlist for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Recently, a three day festival ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival starting from Orchha, began in Madhya Pradesh. It is a 3 day festival which aims to create new opportunities to promote the rich cultural, natural and architectural heritage, traditions and history of the state. The festival was organised by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board to promote the state as a leading tourism destination. It was jointly inaugurated by Minister of Commercial Tax Brijendra Singh Rathore, Minister of Culture Vijaylaxmi Sadho and Chief Secretary Sudhi Ranjan Mohanty

The festival will exhibit the cultural landscape of Madhya Pradesh through varieties of activities such as art, music, dance, guided history tours and photography. The festival will also feature a food and crafts bazaar that will have local cuisine and traditional handicrafts of the region.

Kisan Mela and business meets too will be organized during the event.

Katchatheevu Island: It is an uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka. It was a disputed territory claimed by India until 1976. The island is located between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India. It has been traditionally used by both Sri Lankan Tamil and Tamil Nadu fishermen.

Recently, the annual festival of St Antony’s Shrine began in Katchatheevu Island of Sri Lanka. St Antony is worshiped by the devotees as the patron saint of sea farers. The St shrine is the only structure on the Katchatheevu island.

Priests from both India and Sri Lanka conducted the mass and car procession in connection with the festival. The festival commenced with the traditional flag hoisting ceremonies. More than 3000 indian devotees took part in the festival celebrations. As per an agreement between the Indian and SriLankan governments, Indians are not required to possess an Indian passport or Sri Lankan visa for visiting Kachchatheevu.

Economics

Union Cabinet: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approved the mega consolidation of ten PSBs into four PSBs. the 4 PSBs include the amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into Punjab National Bank, amalgamation of Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank, amalgamation of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India and amalgamation of Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank. The merger will come into effect from the new financial year 1st April 2020.

Vadhvan Port: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its 'in-principle' approval for setting up a Major Port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra. An amount of Rs 65,545 crores has been sanctioned by the Government of India for the project.

The Vadhavan port will be developed on the 'Landlord Model'. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up to provide the necessary infrastructure to the port.

The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All business activities will be done by private developers under the PPP (private-public partnership) model.

The decision of setting a major port in Vadhavan is because the natural draft at the Vadhavan Port near the coast is about 20 meters. This makes it ideal to handle bigger vessels. The development of the Vadhavan port will house the container ships of 16,000 to 25,000 TEU capacities.

Defence

National Security Day: India celebrates National Security Day or Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas on the 4th of March every year. The Day is celebrated to honour all the security forces, including policemen, para-military forces, commandos, guards, army officers, and other persons involved in security, who sacrifice their life in maintaining the peace and security of the people of the country. The 4th of March also marks the day when National Security Council (NSC) of India was established.

NSC: It refers to National Security Council. NSC was established on 4 March 1966 by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India. The council was registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950. It is headquartered in CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. NSC was set up to generate, develop and sustain a voluntary movement on Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) at the national level.

Defence Deal: India recently bagged a deal worth USD 40 million to supply four indigenously-built weapon locating radars to Armenia. In a major boost to the country's defence sector, India has reportedly overtaken Russia and Poland with this deal.

India and Armenia signed deals on DRDO built “Swati” weapon locating radars. Armenia decided to go with Indian built radars after testing Russian and Poland made systems.

The 4 Swathi weapon locating radars have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

The Swathi weapon locating radars (WLR) have the prowess to provide fast, automatic and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells and rockets up to a range of 50 km. This counter-battery radar is designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counter-battery fire.

RalDer-X: It is a new explosive detection device jointly developed by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune. HEMRL Pune is a premier laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). This new explosive detection device RaIDer-X has the capability to detect 20 explosives within a distance of about 2 metres. Bulk explosive in concealed condition can also be detected by the device. The data library can be built in the system to expand its capability to detect a number of explosives in pure form as well as with the contaminated objects.

Recently, RaIDer-X  was unveiled at the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) in Pune (Maharashtra). The NWED-2020 workshop was organized by High Energy Materials Research 

Environment

Gangotri Glacier: Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering Tibet. This glacier is among the largest in the Himalayas. It is not only one of the primary sources of water for river Ganga but also it holds a place of great significance for Indians. It is a pilgrimage site for devout Hindus, while also being popular within the trekking circles.

The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG),an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Science and Technology had conducted study at Chirbasa station near Gangotri Glacier in 2016. According to the study, the black carbon concentration in the region has increased 400 times more. The increase in carbon concentration is seen more during the summer season due to agricultural burning in western India and forest fires along the Himalayan slopes. Even the long-range transportation of pollutants in winter adds to the the black carbon content around the glacier, thereby posing a direct threat to its existence. The glacier has been facing constant threat of excessive melting, as global warming continues unabated.

Black carbon: Black carbon is a potent climate-warming component of particulate matter which is formed due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass. This is because black carbon easily absorbs solar energy, thereby increasing the warmth in the atmosphere. It falls to the earth with precipitation causing the surface of snow and ice to darken. This reduces the reflecting power of the surface and increases the warming of the snow which causes quick melting.  

Biomethanation: Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas. Oxygen free environment is called Anaerobic condition.

National Chambal Sanctuary: National Chambal Sanctuary is located on the Chambal River at the tri-junction of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It spreads across Sheopur, Morena and Bhind districts of Madhya Pradesh. The Sanctuary is the home to 75% population of critically endangered Ghariyal and red crowned roofed turtle and endangered Gangetic river dolphins. It also harbours 180 species of migratory birds.

Recently, the Central Government declared the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). Being declared as Eco-Sensitive Zone, construction of resorts, hotels or other residential and industrial activities are prohibited. Notifications declaring areas as ESZ are issued under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

Eco-Sensitive Zone: It is a protected area around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries that acts as a "shock absorber" and they also act as transition zones. These areas are controlled by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).   Notifications declaring areas as ESZ are issued under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

The main objective behind declaring ESZ is to regulate certain activities so as to protect the fragile ecosystem surrounding the protected areas as much as possible.

World Wildlife Day: World Wildlife Day is celebrated on 3rd March annually. It is celebrated to raise awareness of endangered animals and plants, and ways to fight against wildlife crime.

Recently, European Commission launched the Global Coalition for Biodiversity on the occasion of World Wildlife Day in Monaco. The new global coalition was named “United for Biodiversity”. The coalition has called on world zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens and natural history museums to join in to raise awareness about the nature crisis ahead of the CoP 15 in Kunming,China in 2020. The coalition has been welcomed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as by several organizations.

The institution also pledged to raise their voice for nature by adopting formed United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)’s Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment finding , which stated that one million species were already at risk of extinction.

IPBES: It is an abbreviation for Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. IPBES is an intergovernmental organization. It was established on 21st April 2012 to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

CAMPA: It refers to Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. It was established in 2001. It is governed through CAMPA act.

Recently, a financial assistance of Rs 1.51 crore has been sanctioned to Kaziranga National Park in Kanchanjuri, Assam during the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-2020. It has been sanctioned under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). The notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Apart from this, funds have also been allocated under Project Tiger Scheme and Development of Wildlife Habitat Scheme.

Project Tiger scheme is a conservation program launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. It was launched in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttrakhand.

Indian Policy

Suposhit Maa Abhiyan: It is a scheme launched by the Lok Sabha speaker Shri Om Birla recently in Kota, Rajasthan. The scheme will cover the whole of India. The Scheme is launched to help India achieve its target of “Malnutrition Free India” by 2022. The main objective of this campaign is to provide nutritional support to pregnant women and adolescent girls. The initiative will not only look after the women till pregnancy but will also take care of their newborn children.

Under the scheme, around 1000 women will be given nutritional food for 1 month. At the same time, the health of the child, including medical examination, blood, medicine, delivery, will be taken care of.

This is being done to so that the future generation of India will be mentally and physically strong.

APEDA: It refers to The Agricultural and Processed Food products Export Development Authority. APEDA is an export promotion organization under Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India. It is responsible for promotion and development of the export of its scheduled products. It was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New Delhi. It works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India (GoI).

Recently, APEDA signed MoUs with IIT Delhi, Quality Council of India (QCI) and Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA). The main objective of the MoU is to utilize its expertise to work together to boost the activities in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors to bring better value to the stakeholders.

The Agriculture Export Policy which was launched in 2018 was framed with a focus on agriculture export-oriented production, export promotion, better price realization to farmer and synchronization within policies and programmes of Government of India

ITPO: It refers to India Trade Promotion Organisation. ITPO is the nodal agency of the Government of India under aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India) for promoting country's external trade. It was founded on 1st April 1977. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The current Chairman of ITPO is LC Goyal.

Recently, The 35th edition of AAHAR - the Food and Hospitality fair began in New Delhi. The fair will be open from 3rd March to 7th March 2020.

This 5 day-long fair was organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation, ITPO, with support of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Agriculture and Processed Food Products Development Authority and several apex industry associations.

A wide range of food products, machinery, hospitality, Food and Beverage Equipment and Decoration items, and Confectionery items from over 750 participants from India and overseas were presented at the fair.

The main aim of exhibitions like AAHAR not only promote but also transform the various sectors of the economy and are the lifeline for the exhibition industry. AAHAR is one of Asia’s best known brands in Food & Hospitality shows.

Fuel Humsafar: It is a mobile app for doorstep diesel delivery. Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar recently launched a mobile application ‘Fuel Humsafar’ for delivery of diesel at doorsteps of Housing societies, hotels and hospitals in the national capital region.

The app will be used for the fuel delivery services to housing societies, hospitals, hotels malls, construction sites, industries, banquets and other bulk buyers of diesel in various NCR cities, including Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Hapur, Kundli, Manesar, and Bahadurgarh. Humsafar has 12 bowser tankers in varying capacity from 4 kilolitres to 6 kilolitres and an experienced team of 35 people.

A new Innovative tech idea like ‘Humsafar’ aims to bring new technology and know-how to the market as well as generate employment that will positively impact the economy as well as the bulk consumers of diesel.

Indian polity

UNHRC: It refers to the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. The UNCHR was established in 1946 by ECOSOC. It is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

Recently, the United Nation Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has filed an intervention in the Supreme Court on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The commission has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the citizenship amendment law.

India in response dismissed any foreign intervention in CAA matter as it was an internal matter of the country and no foreign party has any locus standi on issues pertaining to India's sovereignty.

India believes that the CAA is an internal rely of the country. Also, consistent with India, CAA is constitutionally valid.

CAA: The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by both the housed of the Parliament of India in 2019. The act amends Citizenship Act 1955. It seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan (Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Sikhs) who have entered India before 31 December 2014 to escape racial discrimination.

The CAA had led to widespread protests in India, starting with northeastern states.

Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019: Recently, On March 2, 2020, Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' introduced The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 11 December 2019 and then passed the following day.

The Bill aims to convert India’s three deemed-to-be Sanskrit universities. They are Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi, and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati  into Central Sanskrit Universities. The Universities will work towards the promotion of the knowledge of sanskrit which is an important ancient language of India.

Banking Regulation Act:  Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitaraman  on March 3, 2020, introduced a bill in the Parliament to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) more powers to regulate cooperative banks. The bill comes in the wake of the crisis at the Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank in 2019.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to strengthen co-operative banks by increasing professionalism, enabling access to capital, improving governance and ensuring sound banking through the RBI. Its objective is to prevent frauds as that seen at Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Banks (PMC).

According to the provisions in the bill, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), before issuing order for supersession of boards of cooperative banks registered with states will have to consult with the state governments. The amendments that are being made will apply to all urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks. The Cooperative Banks are currently under dual control of both the Registrar of Co-operative Societies and RBI.

Companies Act, 2013: The Companies Act 2013 is an Act of the Parliament of India on Indian company law. It is the law covering incorporation, dissolution and the running of companies in India. The Act came into force across India on 12th September 2013 and has a few amendments to the previous act of 1956. It has also introduced new concepts like a One Person Company.

Recently, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 March 2020, gave its approval to the Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Cabinet approved 72 changes to the Companies Act, 2013 with an aim to increase the ease of doing business in India and to decriminalize the provisions in the act.

Vivad Se Viswas Bill, 2020: Lok Sabha on 4 March 2020 passed the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, 2020 with some amendments. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on 5 February 2020 during the Union Budget 2020-21.

The bill aims to provide a mechanism for resolution of pending tax disputes related to income tax and corporation tax.  It seeks to provide taxpayers a lucrative opportunity to settle direct tax disputes within the current financial year by waiving interest and penalty on their pending taxes. The amended bill will allow taxpayers to settle cases pending before the Commissioner (Appeals), Income Tax Appellate Tribunals (ITATs), Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs), High Courts and the Supreme Court.

Mineral Law Amendment Bill: Lok Sabha, on 4 March 2020 passed the Mineral Laws (Amendment) bill, 2020. The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi for consideration and passing. The bill seeks to amend Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) act, 1957 and also Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015.

The Bill proposes to remove end-use restrictions for participating in coal mine auctions and will open up the coal sector fully for commercial mining for all domestic and global companies. This will help in reduction of coal imports. It would also pave the way for auctioning of iron ore mining leases which expire this month.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill 2019: Lok Sabha, on 4 March 2020 passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill 2019. The bill was passed without any discussion. The Bill was moved by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lower House to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

International

Slovenia: Slovenia, a country in Central Europe. It is situated in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. The Capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. The currency used here is Euro. The current President of Slovenia is Borut Pahor.

Recently, leader of Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Jansa became the new Prime Minister of Slovenia.Slovenia’s parliament confirmed Janez Jansa as its new prime minister. He will be replacing the centre-left Prime Minister Marjan Sarec. PM Marjan Sarec had resigned from his post in January 2020.

61 year old Jansa led the Slovenian government from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013. He is an ally of Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.

BRAC: It is an acronym for Building Resources Across Communities. It was initially known as Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee and then as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. BRAC is an international development organisation based in Bangladesh. It is the largest non-governmental organisation founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 after the independence of Bangladesh. It was established as a small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help returning war refugees after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. BRAC was registered under the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh in order to receive foreign donations. It is present in all 64 districts of Bangladesh as well as 11 other countries in Asia, Africa, and the America. BRAC runs a university, a bank, insurance company, a seed company, among other things. They have one lakh full-time staff, 8,000 of whom work outside Bangladesh. It has been working in areas like poverty alleviation through extending loans to the poor, gender equality, healthcare, nutrition, environment and employment among many other things.

BRAC has retained its position as the top ranking NGO for 2020 in the world for the fifth consecutive year. The rankings were announced by the Geneva-based organization NGO Adviser. It publishes the rankings every year based on publicly available data for the top 500 global NGOs.The rankings by the Public Adviser are based on the impact, innovation, governance and sustainability of the NGO.

BRACK recently announced a new 2030 strategy with the goal to make lives of 250 million people self-sustainable. 

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. The capital of Srilanka are Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital while Colombo is the largest city and center of commerce. The currency used here is Sri Lankan rupee. The current President and Prime Minister of Srilanka are Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa respectively.   

Recently, the 20th Session of the Senior Officials' Meeting (SoM) was held in in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The meeting was chaired by Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha.

During the meet, it was decided that Sri Lanka will lead the science, technology, and innovation sector in Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). This was agreed during the finalization of areas of cooperation among BIMSTEC Member States. It was also decided that a BIMSTEC Facility for Technology Transfer will be opened in Sri Lanka in the future. Srilanka will also appoint a Director to the BIMSTEC Secretariat in June this year.

Malaysia: It is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo. The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur. The currency used here is Malaysian ringgit.

Recently, former Home Affairs Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, backed by the corruption-tarnished former governing party, was sworn in by the king. Mr Yassin was selected as the new Prime Minister after the abrupt resignation of 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad. Mr. Mahathir, who was the world's oldest elected leader, had returned to power in 2018 in a coalition with his old rival Anwar Ibrahim.

UNSC: It is an abbreviation for United Nations Security Council. UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending that the General Assembly accept new members to the United Nations, and approving any changes to its charter. It is headquartered in New York, New York, United States. It was founded on 24th October 1945. Its function includes the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions. It is the only body of the United Nations (UN) with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. The council held its first session on 17 January 1946. The Security Council comprises of 15 members out of which five members are permanent and 10 are non-permanent members elected for a period of two years.

Recently, China took over the presidency of UN Security Council for March 2020. It has taken over the presidency with a pledge of strengthening solidarity and cooperation with all the parties and to maintain international peace and security. The presidency of the Council rotates among each of its 15 members every month

Israel: Israel formally known as the State of Israel  is a country in Western Asia. It is located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It is regarded as the biblical Holy Land by Jews, Muslims and Christians. Its most sacred sites are in Jerusalem which is also the Capital of Israel. The currency used here is Israeli Shekel. The current President and Prime Minister of Israel are Reuven Rivlin Prime Minister and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's general election which was held on 2nd March 2020. The early results put him ahead of his rival Benny Gantz.

70 year old, Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving leader. He is seeking a record fifth term, having been in office from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009.

National

Books and authors: Recently, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani released a book titled “Chronicles of Change Champions” in New Delhi. It is a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken at the state and district levels under the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP).  The book captures the convergent approach adopted at the grass-root level. It also provides insight into the unique manner of community engagement by the District Administration and front-line workers.

BBBP Scheme: The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22nd January 2015 at Panipat, Haryana as a comprehensive programme to address the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and the related issues of empowerment of women over a life-cycle continuum. It is an initiative of the Union ministries of Women & Child Development, Human Resource Development and Health & Family Welfare.

Jan Aushadhi Diwas: Jan Aushadhi Divas or the Generic Medicine Day is observed every year on March 07 since 2019. The day aims to create awareness create awareness about the use of generic medicines.

Recently, India celebrated Jan Aushadhi Diwas 2020 on the 7th of March 2020. This day also celebrates the achievements of Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

Various programme were organized at all PMBJP kendras across the country to increase the awareness about the scheme. The programme witnessed the participation of doctors, health experts, NGO and beneficiaries in a large number.

PMBJP Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) scheme was launched by Prime Minister on July 01, 2015, with an objective of making high-quality medicines available to all at affordable prices, especially to the poor and underprivileged, through exclusive outlets of Jan Aushadhi Medical Stores.

The PMBJP is a noble initiative by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India (GoI). Janaushadi Kendras is considered the biggest retail pharm chain of the world with around 6200 outlets in 700 districts. The scheme also provides a good source of self-employment with sustainable and regular earnings.

Ekam Fest: It is a 7 day exhibition - cum - fair. EKAM Fest has been organised in New Delhi from March 2 to March 9, 2020 to promote craftsmanship and products of Divyang artisans and entrepreneurs. The name EKAM has been chosen as the brand name as it signifies Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, Awareness, and Marketing.

The fair has been organized by National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani jointly inaugurated the event. It is an effort for promoting entrepreneurship and knowledge among Divyangjan community and it also aims to generate awareness among society about potentialities of PwDs as well as providing them major marketing opportunities.

During the fair, more than 80 Divyang entrepreneurs, artisans and organizations from 17 States and Union Territories are displaying products and various crafts. The fest will also showcase the products from Jammu & Kashmir and North East, ranging from handloom, handicraft, Embroidery work and dry fruits.

NHFDC: It refers to National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation. NHFDC was founded on 24th January 1997. It operates under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. The company is registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 as a Company not for profit. It provides financial assistance to divyangs and persons with disabilities.  

IOC: It refers to Indian Ocean Commission (French: Commission de l’Océan Indien, COI). IOC is an intergovernmental organization. It was founded in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius. It was institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles. The COI is composed of five African Indian Ocean nations which are Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, and Seychelles. The current Secretary General of COI is Hamada Madi.

Recently, on the 6th of March 2020, India joined the Indian Ocean Commission as the fifth observer. The other four observers are Malta, China, European Union and International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

This move has strategic importance as the Commission is an important regional institution in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). It will facilitate collective engagement with the islands in Western Indian Ocean that are becoming strategically significant and also boost cooperation with France that has strong presence in the Western Indian Ocean and lends depth to India’s SAGAR policy of PM Narendra Modi 2015. The move not only strengthens western flank of the Indo-Pacific but also it is a stepping stone to security cooperation with East Africa.

People In News

Ajay Bhushan Pandey: He is a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer belonging to the Maharashtra cadre. He was the current Revenue Secretary. He was former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). UIDAI is  the nodal agency of Government of India responsible for implementing Aadhaar. He also served as the Chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).

He has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary by GoI. His new appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

The senior-most bureaucrat among all secretaries in the Finance Ministry is designated as the finance secretary.

Sanjay Kumar Panda: He is a 1991 Indian Foreign Service officer. He is presently Consul General, Consulate General of India, San Francisco.

Senior diplomat Sanjay Kumar Panda has been appointed as India's Ambassador to Turkey. He will succeed Sanjay Bhattacharya. The announcement was made by the Ministry of External Affairs. He has been appointed to the post when India- Turkey relations are under strain.

Jadav Payeng: He is an Asamese environmental activist. He is popularly called the ‘Forest Man of India’. Padma Shri Jadav Payeng is an environmental activist and forest worker from Jorhat. In the past several years, he has planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra turning it into a forest reserve. The forest is called ‘Molai’ forest after him. It is located near Kokilamukh in Jorhat

He was recently named as the 128th Commonwealth Points of Light Award winner. Queen Elizabeth II has honoured Payeng for his exceptional voluntary service to environmental conservation. He will be fecilitated by the British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Nick on March 11. The Points of Light Award recognises people across the 53 Commonwealth nations for the difference they are making in their communities and beyond.

He was also awarded the 6th Karmayogi Award for 2020 at New Delhi. The award is composed of a trophy, a recitation and a reward of Rs 1 lakh. 

Swami Vivekananda Smriti Karmayogi Award is organized by My Home India in New Delhi. The award was conferred for the first time in 2013. This Award is presented to great personalities from North-Eastern India who dedicates their lives to Nation and promotes Nationalism through art & culture, sports, education, etc. for their contribution to respective fields.

My Home India is an NGO which aims at bringing emotional integration between people from different parts of India.

Places In News

Kolkata: Kolkata previously known as Calcutta is the Capital city of West Bengal. It was established as an East India Company trading post. It was India's capital under the British Raj from 1773–1911. The Governor and the Chief Minister of West Bengal are Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamta Banerjee respectively.

Recently, the Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah inaugurated the National Security Guard (NSG) Regional Hub campus at Kolkata, West Bengal. The NSG hub aims to provide adequate facilities to the brave NSG jawans. The campus will hold the responsibility of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the entire North-Eastern region. 

Home Minister also inaugurated various welfare projects for NSG, amounting to over Rs. 245 crores, across Kolkata, Manesar, Chennai, and Mumbai. This newly created infrastructure will improve the housing satisfaction and enhance Operational as well Training capabilities.

NSG: It stands for the National Security Guard. NSG is an elite counter-terrorism unit. It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was founded in 15 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, Akshardham Temple attack and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, "for combating terrorist activities with a view to protect states against internal disturbances". National Security Guard personnel are sometimes referred to as 'The Black Cats'.

New Delhi: It is an urban district located in the city of Delhi. New Delhi officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is a city and a union territory of India. It serves as the capital of India and the seat of all three branches of the Government of India.

The foundation stone of New Delhi was laid by Emperor George V during the Delhi Durbar of 1911. The new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931 by Lord Irwin who was the Viceroy and Governor-General of India.

Recently, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched the multilingual version of “Incredible India” website and mobile app in New Delhi. The website is currently hosted in English and Hindi and now the new version of this website and mobile app has been launched in three more new languages i.e. Arabic, Chinese and Spanish.

The aim of this new version is to attract tourists from Chinese, Arabic and Spanish speaking regions.

The objective of this flagship project launched by Ministry of Tourism is to showcase the tourism products of India on a global platform.  The multilingual Incredible India 2.0 website aims to showcase the varied tourism products of India by providing visitors with relevant, personalized and contextual digital experience escalating tourism awareness, attraction, and opportunities.

This new version of the website also features the 360 degree-experience-based walk-through and stories and experiences of the tourists in various aspects such as Heritage, Food & Cuisine, Nature and Wildlife, Spiritual, Luxury, Adventure, Art, Shopping and many more.

Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand was formerly known as Uttaranchal. It was carved out as a separate state from Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on 9th November 2000. The state in the northern part of India is often referred to as the "Devabhumi" (literally "Land of the Gods") due to numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state. Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on 9th November 2000. Its Capital is Dehra Dun. The Governor‎ and the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand is ‎Krishan Kant Paul and Trivandrum Singh Rawat respectively.

Recently, the Uttarakhand Government announced  Gairsain as the new summer capital of the state. The announcement was made by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on 4th March 2020. However, Dehradun will be retained as the winter capital of Uttarakhand. 

CM Rawat said that this decision was taken as a tribute to the struggle of thousands of women, men and people who fought for the creation of Uttarakhand as a separate state and for decades people also wanted Gairsain as the capital of the state.

Gairsain: It is a tehsil in Chamoli District. It is situated at the eastern edge of the vast Dudhatoli mountain range, located almost at the centre of the state. Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali in 1960 proposed Gairsain as the capital state of Uttarakhand. Statehood activists had long contended that Gairsain was best suited as the capital of Uttarakhand as it was a hilly region falling on the border of Kumaon and Garhwal regions.

Jammu: It is the winter capital and the largest city in Jammu district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies on the banks of the river Tawi. The city is surrounded by the Himalayas in the north and the northern-plains in the south.

Recently, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took over the security of the Jammu airport. With this induction, the CISF now currently has 63 airports under its cover in the country.

CISF: It refers to the Central Industrial Security Force. CISF is a Central Armed Police Force in India. It is responsible for airport security at all commercial airports of India. It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India on 10 March 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made an armed force of the Republic of India by another Act of Parliament passed on 15 June 1983. Its Governing body is the Ministry of Home Affairs of India. Its motto is "Protection and Security". The 1.62-lakh personnel strong paramilitary force is designated as the national civil aviation security force.

 

Science and Technology

CRISPR (CaS9): It stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. It is a Gene Editing Tool used to treat blindness.

A person with a genetic condition that causes blindness has become the first to receive a CRISPR–Cas9 gene therapy administered directly into their body. The patient underwent the procedure at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. However, the doctors said that it may take up to a month to see whether the procedure worked to restore vision.

Genome India Project: It is a gene-mapping project.  The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has initiated this project. This initiative involves twenty leading institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few Indian Institute of Technology (IITs).

 Recently, the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology cleared the Genome India Project. India will begin its first human genome mapping project by October 2020. In the first phase, the project will take samples of 10,000 persons to develop a reference Genome.

The Centre for Brain Research, which is an autonomous institute in the IISc, Bengaluru, will act as a nodal point of the project. The Government of India (GoI) was inspired by the Human Genome Project.

The Human Genome Project started in 1990 and ended in 2003. It was an international project funded by the US government. The objective of this project was to map the human genome and gather them together to obtain a complete sequence of chromosomes. This led to mapping of nucleotides in the genome.

ICONSAT: It refers to the International Conference on Nano Science and Technology. ICONSAT is a series of biennial international conferences held under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (GoI). India's nano technology journey began with the launch of "Nano Science and Technology Initiative" (NSTI) for 5 years in 2001. Then in 2007 it was renamed as "Nano Mission". The aim of the Nano Mission of India is to provide a global platform for interaction between eminent scientists.

Recently, the Department of Science of Technology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology organized an International Conference on Nano-Science and and Nano Technology (ICONSAT) at Kolkata. The Conference was held from 5th March 2020 to 7th March 2020.The main aim of the conference is to provide a platform for the young researchers & students from within the country and abroad, with the latest development in the emerging areas of Nano Science and Technology.

The conference focused on the recent advances in this frontier research field. The current need of India in the field of Nano-Science was also highlighted during the event. It included 5Ms namely Material, Machines, Mechanical, Manufacturing and Manpower. The Conference was attended by more than 450 scientists from all over the world.

Sports

TOISA: It refers to Times of India Sports Awards. TOISA celebrate and recognize some of the most brilliant sports personalities of our country.

Recently, the 4th edition of TOISA was held in New Delhi to honour the best Indian in 2019 sports. The event was organized by BHIM-UPI (Bharat Interface for Money- Unified Payments Interface). Some of the big names who won the awards were P.V. Sindhu, Rohit Sharma, Saurav Ghoshal. Deepika Kumari, Manika Batra, Praggnanandhaa and several others.

Times of India Awards 2019 winners are:-

P V Sindhu for Sports person of the Year, Unbreakable Spirit of Sports and Badminton Player of the Year in female category while B Sai Praneeth was awarded in the men's category .

India's first world championship silver medalist pugilist Amit Phanghal won the recognition among male boxers while Lovlina Borgohain bagged the award among female boxers.

Rohit Sharma was awarded for the Cricketer of the year.

Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia was given the Lifetime Achievement award.

Hockey legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Balbir Singh was honoured with the Icon of the Century award.

National badminton coach Pulella Gopichand won the Mentor of the Year award

Former shooter Jaspal Rana was recognised as the Coach of the Year.

Indian men’s Hockey Team for Team of the year

BWF Yonex Dutch Junior International: Young Indian shuttlers Tasnim Mir and Mansi Singh won bronze at BWF Yonex Dutch Junior International 2020. The Badminton event was held in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is for the first time that two Indian shuttlers have won medals in girls’ singles at this BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament. India is now looking forward to their participation in the Yonex German Junior-2020 to be held in Berlin from 4th to 8th of March.

Mexican Open 2020: It is a tennis tournament which was held in Acapulco, Mexico from 24th to 29th February 2020 at Princess Mundo Imperial. It is the 27th edition of the men's Mexican Open and 20th for the women.

Recently, the World Number 2 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal won the Men's Singles title at the 2020 Mexico Open. He secured his 85th ATP Tour title by defeating unseeded Taylor Fritz in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in the final of the ATP Mexico Open. With this win, he defeated the World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the ATP Rankings.

In the Women’s Singles, British player Heather Watson defeated 17 year old Canadian player Leylah Fernandez by 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 to win the title.

Arts

NFDC: It refers to the National Film Development Corporation. The NDFC of India is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India (GOI). It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharshtra.

Recently, the Cabinet approved the merger of 4 government-run film and media units — the Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archives of India and the autonomous body Children’s Film Society under the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) platform.

The film media units are merged under one platform in order to have proper systematic convergence of activities and resources and better coordination, thereby ensuring synergy and efficiency in achieving the mandate of each media unit. This will lead to a reduction in duplication of activities and direct savings to the exchequer.

After the merger, the NFDC will be responsible to fulfill the aspects of production, promotion, and preservation of the filmic content, under the single management platform.

1. Films Division: It was established in 1948. It is the oldest of the four units,. It was created primarily to produce documentaries and news magazines as publicity for government programmes and to keep a cinematic record of Indian history.

2. National Film Archives of India: It was established in 1964 with the primary objective of acquiring and preserving Indian cinematic heritage.

3. Directorate of Film Festivals: It was set up in 1973 to promote Indian films and cultural exchange.

4. The Children’s Film Society: It was founded in 1955 with the specific objective of providing children and young people value-based entertainment through the medium of films.

Amar Singh College: Amar Singh College is based in Srinagar, Kashmir. The College has recently been recognized with the ‘Award of Merit’ in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

The buliding of this college is 80 years old and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had carried out the conservation work at the Amar Singh College. The restoration of the Amar Singh College helped bring back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory.

INTACH: It is an abbreviation of Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage in Odisha. INTACH is a non-profit charitable organization registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It was founded on 27 January 1984. Its responsibility is the preservation and restoration of Art, Cultural, architectural heritage of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council. The Motto of INTACH is "Dedicated to Conservation". The current Chairman of INTACH is L.K. Gupta.

Economics

Green National Highway Corridors: The World Bank and Government of India ( goI) recently signed a $500 Million(around Rs 3,692 crore) Green National Highways Corridors Project to build safe, green and resilient highways in states of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The agreement between the Indian government and the World Bank was signed by an additional secretary, Department of economic affairs, CS Mohapatra, and World Bank acting country director of India, Sumila Gulyani.

The project will help reduce GHG emissions in the construction and maintenance of highways.

It will also support the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the construction of 783 km of highways by combining safe and green technology designs such as industrial byproducts, local and marginal materials, and other bioengineering solutions.

World Bank: The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. It comprises two institutions which are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It was founded on July 1944 by John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White. Its main aim is providing financing, advice, and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement. The bank predominantly acts as an organization that attempts to fight poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle- and low-income countries. The current President of World Bank is David Malpass.

 

Bharatskills Portal: The Directorate General of Training (DGT) along with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation recently launched a digital learning programme for around 1.2 lakh students from nearly 3,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country.

The digitized e-learning programme can be accessed on the Bharatskills portal, a central repository for skill development programmes.

The joint e-learning programme will provide ITI students with future-ready employability skilling content. The programme aims to enable digitization in education and impact thousands of students, and hopes to reach more students and teachers soon, the skill development and entrepreneurship.

About Bharatskills: The online portal called Bharatskills(https://bharatskills.gov.in) was launched by DGT  in Oct 2019.

It is a Central Repository for skills providing easy access for the trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, to access updated curriculums and course content of all courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), Question Banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos, etc., hence enabling anytime, anywhere learning outside the classrooms.

The teachers and students can access a centralized, scalable and prosperous support ecosystem throug its industrial partners who can now learn the newer IR 4.0 skills to meet the demands of the industry.

DGT: It refers to the Directorate General of Training. DGT is an apex organization for development and coordination at National level for the programmes relating to vocational training including women's Vocational Training. It is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Its current Chairman is KK Natarajan.

Swachhata Abhiyan: It is a mobile application launched by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Social Justice Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar.

The Minister urged all citizens to download the app, ''Swachhata Abhiyan'', and through it provide the authorities concerned details of any insanitary latrine or manual scavenger they notice.

This would help in rehabilitating all manual scavengers and replace insanitary latrines with sanitary ones.

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, mandates survey of insanitary latrines, their demolition and construction of sanitary ones in their place.

Note: The government has been implementing Swachh Bharat Mission for the same purpose. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, more than nine crore sanitary latrines have been constructed but still insanitary latrines and manual scavengers in some isolated parts of the country exist.

The reported insanitary latrines and manual scavengers will be rehabilitated to provide dignity of life to them.

Defence

HWT: The full form of HWT is to Hypersonic Wind Tunnel. The Union Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) in Hyderabad, Telangana

The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility is pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter and will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents the multiplication factor to the speed of sound). With this facility India has become the third country in the world, after the US and Russia, to have such a huge facility in size and capability.

The facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realization of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.

MoD: It refers to the Ministry of Defence. It was created in 1776 which is 244 years ago as Military Department by the British East India Company at Kolkata but in 15 August 1947, the Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a cabinet minister. It is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian armed forces. The President of India is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. The responsibility for national defence rests with the Cabinet. The function of MoD is to provide policy framework and resources to the armed forces to discharge their responsibility in the context of the defence of the country. The Indian Armed Forces (including Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy) and Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defences are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of the nation. The current Defence Minister is Rajnath Singh.

Recently, the Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh handed over 3 indigenously developed high technology systems to chiefs of the three armed forces - the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. These systems were handed over to them at a function held in DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi.

The 3 systems which are the Border Surveillance System (BOSS), ASTRA Mk-I Missile, and Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Border Surveillance System (BOSS): BOSS is an all-weather electronic surveillance system. It was handed over to Army Chief General M M Naravane. The system has already been deployed in Ladakh against the Chinese troops for day and night surveillance.

It has been designed and developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun and is being produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machlipatnam.

The system facilitates monitoring and surveillance by automatically detecting the intrusions in harsh high-altitude sub-zero temperature areas with remote operation capability.

Astra Mk-1 missile system: It was handed over to Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria. This missile is the first indigenously developed beyond visual range (BVR) missile that can be launched from Sukhoi-30, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Mig-29 and Mig-29K.

ASTRA weapon system has been developed by Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) and production by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) Hyderabad.

Indian maritime situational awareness system (IMSAS):

IMSAS was handed to Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh. It is a state-of-the-art high-performance intelligent software system that provides Global Maritime Situational Picture, Marine planning tools and Analytical capabilities to Indian Navy.

The product is jointly conceptualized and developed by Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), Bengaluru and Indian Navy, while it is being produced by BEL, Bengaluru.

Satyendra Garg: He is a senior IPS officer who has assumed Andaman and Nicobar DGP charge.

He is a 1987-batch IPS officer. He was posted as joint secretary in the Union home ministry. He was handing the North East division in the home ministry as a joint secretary before being repatriated to his cadre.

Among other top-level reshuffle IPS officer, Ranvir Singh Krishna is named the police chief of Puducherry. He will be replacing 1988-batch IPS officer Balaji Srivastava who will assume charge in Delhi. Srivastav has been transferred to the Delhi Police.

Environment

GRIHA: The full form of GRIHA is the "Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment". It is the national rating system of India for any completed building construction. It has been being recognised as India’s own green building rating system in India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Recently, the 12th GRIHA Summit was inaugurated by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu virtually. The Summit provides a platform to deliberate on innovative technologies and solutions to help in creating robust mechanisms for developing sustainable and resilient solutions for the benefit of the entire community.

The theme of the Summit was “Rejuvenating Resilient Habitats”.

It is the annual flagship event organized by GRIHA Council in association with ‘key stakeholders in the construction industry’ to discuss and deliberate on the furtherance of Sustainable Habitat Development in India.

GRIHA Council: It is an independent, not-for-profit society jointly setup by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India (GoI) to promote and administer green buildings in India.

Tso Kar Wetland Complex: India recently added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site. It is a second one in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.

The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex. It consists of 2 principal waterbodies - Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh, India.

It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.

The Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway. The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.

This IBA is also the major breeding area for Bar-headed Geese (Anserindicus), Great Crested Grebe (Podicepscristatus), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea), Brown-headed Gull (Larusbrunnicephalus), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadriusmongolus) and many other species.

Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri or "Mountain Lake", is a lake in the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh. It was notified in 2002 under the List of Ramsar Wetland sites under the Ramsar Convention.

The Ramsar Convention: It was signed on 2nd February, 1971. It is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed by member countries. Its main objective is to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.

It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed. Places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site’. The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

Indian Policy

E-Sampada: It is the name of a new Web Portal and Mobile App that has been dedicated to the nation by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs  Hardeep Singh Puri on Good Governance Day.

E-Sampada provides a single-window for all the services including an allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations, office space allotment to government organizations in 45 office complexes in 28 cities and booking of 1,176-holiday homerooms.

This new web portal provides online facility to users across India to lodge complaints, submit documents and appear for the virtual hearing. In its endeavor to provide ‘One Nation, One System’, the erstwhile 4 websites  namely - gpra.nic.in, estates.gov.in, eawas.nic.in, holidayhomes.nic.in and two Mobile Apps (m-Awas & m-Ashoka5) of the Directorate of Estates have been integrated into one.

Cabinet: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently approved the proposal for revision of the guidelines for obtaining license for providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting service in India.

The salient features of the Cabinet's decision as mentioned by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar are as follows:

• License for the DTH will be issued for a period of 20 years compared to the license for all service providers which was issued for a duration of 10 years, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The period of License may also be renewed by 10 years at a time.
• License fee has been revised from 10% of GR (Gross Revenue) to 8% of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) which will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.
• License Fee will be collected on quarterly basis in lieu of presently annual basis.
• DTH operators shall be permitted to operate to a maximum of 5 percent of its total channel carrying capacity as permitted platform.   
• The sharing of Infrastructure between DTH operators willing to share DTH platform and transport stream of TV channels, on voluntary basis, will be allowed.
• The cap of 49% FDl in the existing DTH guidelines will be aligned with the extant Government (DPIIT's) policy on FDl as amended from time to time. It will allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI).

Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules 2020: The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh recently announced the new ‘Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020.

As per these rules, the consumers across the country will have the right to a minimum standard of service for supply of electricity.

The rules provide for penalties for power distribution utilities (discoms) for not maintaining mandated standards of services.

 The distribution licensee shall supply 24×7 power to all consumers unless stated otherwise for a specific category, such as an agricultural connection.

The consumer shall have the option to pay bills online or offline. Besides, there would be provision for advance payment of bills.

These rules provide for Rights of consumers and Obligations of Distribution licensees.

The key areas which are covered in the Electricity (Rights of consumers) Rules are as follows:

1. Rights of consumers and Obligations of Distribution licensees
2. Release of new connection and modification in existing connection
3. Metering arrangement
4. Billing and Payment
5. Disconnection and Reconnection
6. Reliability of supply
7. Consumer as Prosumer
8. Standards of Performance of licensee
9. Compensation Mechanism
10. Call Centre for Consumer Services
11. Grievance redressal mechanism

Indian polity

ZTC: It refers to the Zoland Territorial Council. The Zomi ethnic group of Manipur has recently renewed its demand for the creation of Zoland Territorial Council (ZTC) under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, a self-administered zone on the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam.

ZOMI: The Zou people or Zomi are an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma. They are a sub-group of the Zo people (Mizo-Kuki-Chin).

In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Paite and the Simte peoples. The Zou are officially recognized as one of the 33 indigenous peoples within the state of Manipur, and are one of the Scheduled tribes.

According to the 2001 Census, the Zou/Jou population in Manipur is around 20,000 which is less than 3% of the population. The community is concentrated in Churachandpur and Chandel districts of Manipur.

International

International Human Solidarity Day: International Human Solidarity Day is observed every year on 20th of December globally to celebrate unity in diversity and raise awareness about the importance of solidarity.

Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century.

The International Human Solidarity Day history starts from December 2002, when the UN General assembly established the World Solidarity Fund. This fund was set up in February 2003 to fund the United Nations Development Programme, which worked to eradicate poverty. The General Assembly, on 22 December 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century, and in that regard decided to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day. The day commemorates the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund.

Solidarity: The word solidarity is defined as an awareness of shared interests and objectives that create a psychological sense of unity and ties in a society that bind people together as one.

Singapore: Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. This sovereign island nation is located just off the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia bordering the Straits of Malacca to the west, the Riau Islands to the south, and the South China Sea to the east. Singapore has no capital. It is an island city state. The currency used here is Singapore dollar. The current Prime minister of Singapore is Lee Hsien Loong.

Recently, the Hawker Culture of street food in Singapore has been inducted by UNESCO in its prestigious ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.

The Hawker Culture is a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment.

The Hawker centres are naturally-ventilated premises with many stalls selling a wide variety from various cultures like Chinese, Malay, Indian, among others at affordably priced food. They are mostly conveniently located at the heart of housing estates, usually with adjourning wet markets. Hawker centres are a unique aspect of Singapore culture and lifestyle. They are known to master a variety of cuisines which they serve at the ‘community dining rooms’ where people from across all walks of life gather and share their unique experiences.

Hawker: A hawker is a vendor who sells food items and other inexpensive goods.

UNESCO: The full form of UNESCO is United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO was founded on 6 November 1945. It is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture. It is headquartered in Paris, France. The current head of UNESCO is Audrey Azoulay. 

Hong Kong: Hong Kong is officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It is a metropolitan area and special administrative region of the People's Republic of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta of the South China Sea. The region is bordered by Guangdong province to the north and the South China Sea to the east, south, and west. It is the eight largest trading entity in the world.

Recently, The Senator of United States (US) recently blocked a bill called the Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act. It is a US bill that seeks to give special refugee status, called ‘Temporary Protected Status’ to Hong Kong citizens in the USA. The Bill would also allow them to reside and work in the country as a part of a federal program for individuals from war-ridden countries and for those seeking refuge from other difficult circumstances like natural disasters.

The legislation seeks to protect the Hong Kongers from ‘China’s tightening grip’. It tightens the grip by allowing the residents already residing in the US to remain in the country if they feared harassment by the Government and authorities in Hong Kong.

The Bill was blocked because according to the Republican Senator, Ted Cruz, the democrats used the bill to advance their long-standing goals of changing the immigration laws. The Senator also believed that China might exploit US Immigration laws which will ultimately lead to Chinese Spies working in the US in the interest of China.

National

Good Governance Day (GGD): The day is also known as Sushasan Divas in India. This day observed annually on 25th December. It is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Good Governance Day was established in 2014 to honour Prime Minister Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government. In keeping with this principle, the Good Governance Day has been declared to be a working day for the government.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: He was an Indian statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India for three times. He served the nation as the 10th Prime Minister. His first term was for only 13 days in 1996, his second term was for a period of 13 months from March 1998 to April 1999 and then a full term from 1999 to 2004. His first entry into parliament was in 1962 through the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times. On December 23, 2014, Mr Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were announced as recipients of the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He was also noted as a poet and a writer. He passed away on 16th August 2018.

National Consumer Rights Day: The day is observed every year by India on December 24. It is observed to raise awareness about the rights of consumers and responsibilities. This is the day when the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the President.

On this day in 1986, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 received the Presidential assent and thus came into force. The Act aims to provide consumers with effective safeguards against different types of exploitation, such as defective goods, deficiency in services and unfair trade practices.

However, On 6 August 2019, the Indian Parliament passed the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019. The Bill replaced the more than three decades old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Upon receiving the assent of President, it has become an act which entails setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority, CCPA to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.

Under the new Act, the CCPA would make interventions to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices.The agency can also initiate class action, including enforcing recall, refund and return of products.

The theme for National Consumer Rights Day 2020 is 'The Sustainable Consumer'.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has launched a consumer awareness program named ‘Jago Grahak Jago’, which means ‘Be aware consumer’.

As part of this initiative, the government has used channels to create consumer awareness through print, media advertisements, Video campaigns and audio campaigns for consumer ieducation and Information.

National Farmer’s Day: National Farmer’s Day also known as Kisan Diwas is celebrated every year on 23 December in India to remember the role of Indian farmers in the economy.

The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh. He brought farmer-friendly policies and worked towards the welfare of the farmers.

Chaudhary Charan Singh: He was the fifth Prime Minister of India and served the country as Prime Minister from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. He entered politics as part of the Independence Movement motivated by Mohandas Gandhi. Historians and people alike frequently refer to him as the 'champion of India's peasants.' He was born on 23 December 1902 and he passed away on 29 May 1987.

India-Vietnam Leaders’ Virtual Summit: The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently co-chaired a Virtual Summit via video conferencing.

During the Summit, a ‘Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People’ document was adopted to guide the future development of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Both leaders also welcomed the signing of a Plan of Action for period 2021-2023 for further implementation of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to implement the Joint Vision. They agreed to support each other’s national development priorities and work together towards the shared objective of a peaceful, stable, secure, free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

India and Vietnam also signed 7 agreements during the virtual summit in areas such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, petro-chemicals, defence, scientific research and cancer treatment.

India & Japan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently addressed the 6th edition of the India-Japan SAMVAD conference 2020, via virtual conferencing. The main objective of this Samvad Conference was to discuss the need to build the future of Asia on the positive influence of traditions of non-violence and democracy in Asia.

At the conference, Prime Minister Modi proposed to create a library of traditional Buddhist literature and scriptures in India which would collect digital copies of Buddhist literature from across different parts of the world. The library would then translate these works and make them available for all scholars and monks of Buddhism.

People In News

Srinivasa Ramanujan: Srinivasa Ramanujan FRS born Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar who lived during the British Rule in India was an Indian mathematician whose contributions to the theory of numbers include pioneering discoveries of the properties of the partition function. He had a wealth of ideas that have transformed and reshaped 20th-century mathematics and these ideas still continue to shape mathematics of the 21st century.

Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation.

He was born on 22 December 1887 and he died on 26th April 1920 at an early age of 32. India celebrates National Mathematics Day every year on 22nd every year to commemorate his birth anniversary.

The day is observed as National Mathematics Day every year since 2012. This year nation celebrated his 133rd birth anniversary of Ramanujan.

History of National Mathematics Day: The day was announced on 26 February 2012 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 Dec 1887- 26 Apr 1920). 2012 was also observed as National Mathematics Year.

Narendra Modi: Narendra Damodardas Modi ( born 17 September 1950) is the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament for Varanasi.

Recently, US President Donald Trump recently conferred America’s highest military decoration, ‘The Legion of Merit’, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prestigious Legion of Merit was given to PM Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries.

The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House on 21 December 2020.

Trump had earlier awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait on September 18. Before that, the medal was last awarded in 1991.

Legion of Merit: The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander is a military award of the United States. It is a domed five-pointed American white star plaque of heraldic form and is bordered in purplish-red enamel, with 13 white stars on a blue field emerging from a circle of clouds. Backing the star is a laurel wreath with pierced, crossed arrows pointing outward between each arm of the star and the wreath. The reverse is engraved with the words “United States of America.” It is the seventh in the order of precedence of all the United States military awards.

It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements, loyalty. The medal is rarely awarded and can only be conferred by the US President. It is usually given to heads of state or heads of government.

It is one of the two United States military decorations that is issued as a neck let. The other is Medal of Honour.

Note: The other Indian winners of Legion of Merit are:

General Satyawant Mallana Srinagesh of Indian Army was awarded with the Legion of Merit in 1955.

The Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was awarded with the Legion of Merit in 1950.

Kodandera Madappa Cariappa: He was the first Indian Commander in Chief of the Indian Army. He is the one of the only two Indian Army officers to hold the Five-star rank of field marshal. The other is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Army Day, in India is celebrated on 15 January in recognition of Field Marshal Cariappa’s taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.

Ratan Tata: He is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts. Born on 28 December 1937 in Surat he is the recipient of two of the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000). He is well known for his business ethics and philanthropy.

Recently, the ‘ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020’ which was organized was organised from 15 to 19 December 2020 was addressed by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi via video conferencing. The theme of the programme was ‘India’s resilience: Atmanirbhar roadmap towards $5 trillion economies.’

As a part of the celebration PM Modi presented the ‘ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award’ to Shri Ratan Tata, on behalf of the TATA Group, for his distinguished contributions to the country. (the full form of ASSCHAM is Associated Chambers of Commerce of India).

In the last 100 years, ASSOCHAM and the entire Tata group has worked very hard to strengthen India’s economy and help the common Indian.

 Note: Mr. Tata will also be honored with the ‘Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace’ award by the Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce on December 21. He will receive the award during the launch of the Federation of Indo-Israel Chamber of Commerce’s international chapter in Dubai, for promoting innovation that supports sustainability and peace in the region, including with the Palestinians.

Vineet Agarwal: He is the Managing Director of logistics major Transport Corporation of India Limited. He has recently taken over as the new President of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). He will be replacing Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and MD, Hiranandani Group of Companies.

Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power, is the new Senior Vice-President of Assocham.

Assocham: It refers to the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India. ASSOCHAM is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India. The organization was founded in 1920. It represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives.

Places In News

Gurugram: Gurgaon, officially Gurugram, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is the second largest city in the state of Haryana. It is one of the major satellite cities of Delhi and is part of the National Capital Region of India. The city was named after revered teacher Dronacharya of epic Mahabharata. It is believed that Dronacharya was gifted this ancestral village by his disciples, the Pandavas and Kauravas. He gave spiritual instructions to them at this place.

Recently, the Minister of State for Skill Development, Raj Kumar Singh inaugurated India's first Centre of Excellence (CoE) for ‘skill development in the power sector’ in Gurugram, Haryana.

The CoE has been established in the campus of National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana.

It has been set up by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India (GoI), in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and Youth, Government of France and Schneider Electric.

It has high-end modern labs which are designed keeping in mind the future technology, that will further strengthen India and France’s relationship in the energy sector.

The CoE will serve as a platform to focus on creating a pool of highly skilled trainers and assessors for further training to increase employability of candidates in the field of Electricity, Automation and Solar Energy Sectors.

Schneider Electric: Schneider Electric is a French multinational company. It provides energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation, software and services. The current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Jean-Pascal Tricoire.

Punjab: Punjab is a state in northern India. It is bounded by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west. Punjab in its present form came into existence on 1 November 1966. The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Punjab means "The Land of Five Waters", which are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. The current Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab are Captain Amarinder Singh and V.P.Singh Badnore respectively.

Recently, the Chief Minister of Punjab launched a   Mobile Application and web portal called ‘PR Insight’. The application seeks to serve as a platform for receiving feedback for people, which in turn will enable Punjab Government remove deficiencies in programmmes and schemes implemented by it.

The main objective of PR Insight is to re-orient the existing schemes and programmes of the state government to the people’s satisfaction after meticulously monitoring their feedback.

PR Insight application has been developed by the Information & Public Relations Department to provide a single repository & dashboard of all the news articles & social media posts of the State.

As many as 31 leading Newspaper agencies/portals have been integrated online with PR Insight application & portal and all the State Departments’ news articles are fetched from these newspaper agencies on real time basis.

The news articles and social media posts will be analyzed using advance analytics and sentiment analysis tools to understand citizen feedback on Government policies and perception of Governance by the citizens.

The app will monitor the citizen’s feedback and subsequently ensure responsive and transparent administration in the State.

West Bengal: West Bengal is a state in eastern India. It lies between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. It borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata. It was established on 26 January 1950. The current Chief Minister and Governor of West Bengal are Mamta Banerjee and Jagdeep Dhankhar respectively.

Recently, the Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan dedicated West Bengal’s first oil and gas reserve, ‘Bengal Basin’, to the nation.

The Bengal Basin is explored and owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It is the 8th producing basins of India by ONGC.

The others seven are:

1. Krishna-Godavari (KG)
2. Mumbai Offshore
3. Assam Shelf
4. Rajasthan
5. Cauvery
6. Assam-Arakan Fold Belt
7. Cambay

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited commenced the production of crude oil from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district of the state on 20 December 2020.

Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh is a state in northern India. It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh during British rule, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Its Capital city is Lucknow. The Chief Minister and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh are Yogi Adityanath and Anandiben Patel respectively.

Recently, a special campaigned named “Varasat” (natural succession) was launched by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government. This is a first of its kind campaign that has been launched to curb property & land-related disputes in rural areas.

This initiative of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aims is to put an end the land-related issues in the rural areas and eradicate the exploitation of the villagers over succession rights by land mafias, who generally target disputed properties. The two-month-long special drive will continue till 15th February 2020.

Under the arrangements:

1. The villagers will get both online and offline facilities for registering their ‘Varasat’.
2. For the people who have land in the village but are living at some other place, a special counter will be opened at the Tehsil-level where they can apply for the same.
3. People will get proper paper documents for their land property.
4. They can even avail loans from banks.
5. It would be helpful in minimizing disputes and animosity within families and relatives. The people would also get rid of facing law suits that sometimes trail for generations.
6. All the information related to such land will be uploaded on the website of the revenue board based on which the progress of the scheme will be reviewed.

Science and Technology

Naegleria fowleri: It is a single celled amoeba. It is also called the brain-eating Amoeba. It is usually found in warm fresh water. However, the climatic changes have helped the amoeba to spread even during winter. It multiplies rapidly at forty-six degree Celsius.

The amoeba is usually found in rivers, lakes and causes infection called Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis. It is also called PAM and can be fatal

Recently, Naegleria fowleri has been in news because this amoeba is now rapidly spreading in the US. The news comes after a mysterious disease called Eluru was discovered in the districts of Andhra Pradesh.

PAM: It stands for Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis. The symptoms of PAM start to occur after 24 hours the amoeba entered the human body. The most common early symptom of the infection is head ache. The other symptoms are dizziness, stiff neck, vomiting, fever, nausea, seizures, etc.

The amoeba enters the human body through nose. It reaches the brain from the nose, where it feeds on the brain tissues. The unique fact about the amoeba is that it does not cause harm to the human body if it enters through the mouth. Thus, a person does not get infected by PAM by drinking contaminated water.

The Amoeba enters the human body from inadequately chlorinated swimming pools, contaminated tap water.

FAST: It refers to the Five Hundred Metre Aperture Spherical Telescope. FAST is the world's largest Radio Telescope. China recently announced that it is opening its Five Hundred Metre Aperture Spherical Telescope to international scientists.

About FAST: The telescope FAST nicknamed Tianyan (Eye of Heaven) was completed in 2016. It was built at a cost 175 million USD. It displaced thousands of villagers. It is located in the Dawodang depression.  The Dawodang depression is a natural basin in Guizhou, southwest China.

It is located in a natural sinkhole which was formed due to erosion.

FAST has a fixed 500 m (1,600 ft) diameter dish constructed in a natural depression in the landscape. It is the world's largest filled-aperture radio telescope and the second-largest single-dish aperture, after the sparsely-filled RATAN-600 in Russia.

The telescope has a reflecting surface of 500-metres in diameter of which only a circle of 300 metres diameter can be used at one time.

It has super sensitivity to detect cosmic phenomena.

This includes radio bursts and pulsars as well.

The science objectives of FAST are Pulsar Observations,Large Scale Neutral Hydrogen survey, Detection of Interstellar molecules, Pulsar Timing Arrays, Detecting Interstellar Communication signals and Leading International very long baseline interferometry network.

Sports

Football: In football, the Star Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has equalled Brazilian legend Pele's record of 643 goals for a single club by scoring for Barcelona against Valencia. Messi achieved the feat in a Spanish league match where both the teams ended in a 2-2 draw recently.

Football legend Pele scored 643 goals in 665 competitive games for Brazilian club Santos between 1956 and 1974 while Messi needed 748 matches from 2005 to 2020 to reach the tally.

Boxing World Cup championship: Indian pugilists recently bagged 9 medals including 3 golds, 2 silver and 4 bronze at the Cologne Boxing World Cup which ended in Cologne, Germany.

Amit Panghal won  gold in men's category while Manisha Moun  and Simranjit Kaur won gold  in Women's category.

India finished 2nd in the overall Medals List, Germany topped the list with 16 medals. The Cologne Boxing World 2020 was hosted by the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC).

EUBC: It is an acronym for European Boxing Confederation. EUBC was founded in 2009. It is headquartered in Assisi, Italy. The current EUBC President is Franco Falcinelli.

Sports Ministry: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India (GoI). It administers Department of youth affairs and Department of Sports in India. The Ministry was set up as the Department of Sports at the time of organisation of 1982 Asian Games New Delhi. Its name was changed to the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports during celebration of the International Youth Year, 1985. It became a separate Ministry on 27 May 2000. Subsequently, In 2008, the Ministry was bifurcated into Department of Youth Affairs and Department of Sports under two separate Secretaries. The ministry gives the annual National Sports awards in various categories, including the Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards. The current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports is Kiren Rijiju (MOS independent charge).

Recently, the Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of 4 indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, which is scheduled to be held in Haryana.

The four new games are Thang-Ta, Gatka, Kalaripayattu and Mallakhamba.

These four selected games represent different parts of the country and will get national recognition with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.

The place of origin of the 4 newly inducted games are as follows:

1. Thang-Ta is a Manipur martial art.
2. Gatka originates from Punjab. It is a traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors, used both as self-defence as well as a sport.
3. Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala.
4. Mallakhamba is practised in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Lewis Hamilton:  He is the Formula 1 world champion. He has recently won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020.

This is the second time that the 35-year-old Hamilton has been crowned Sports Personality of the Year. Prior to this, he won the award in 2014.

The other award winners at Sports Personality 2020 are:

1. Helen Rollason Award: Captain Sir Tom Moore
2. Team of the Year: Liverpool FC
3. Expert Special Panel Award: Marcus Rashford
4. Coach of the Year: Jurgen Klopp (Football)
5. Unsung Hero: Sgt Matt Ratana
6. Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero: Tobias Weller
7. Young Sports Personality of the Year: Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (British diver)

Arts

Prabuddha bharata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently addressed the 125th anniversary celebrations of the ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ journal. The event was being organized by the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati in Uttarakhand.

About Prabuddha Bharata:

1. ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ is a special journal, closely associated with Swami Vivekananda himself. It is a monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order which was started by Swami Vivekananda.
2. It has been in publication since 1896. It is regarded as a significant medium for spreading the message of India’s ancient spiritual wisdom. It carries articles on social sciences and humanities comprising historical, psychological, cultural and social sciences themes.
3. Several prominent people such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak,  Netaji Subhas Chandra Sister Nivedita, Sri Aurobindo and the first Vice President of India Shri Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan have contributed their writings towards the journal in the fields of history, social issues, psychology, Indian culture etc.
4. It was initially published in Chennai for two years after which the publication operation was shifted to Almora town of Uttarakhand. The place of publication was again moved in April 1899 to the Advaita Ashrama and the journal has been publishing from there ever since.

Pattachitra: Pattachitra or Patachitra ( Patta means cloth and Chitra means picture in Sanskrit) term generally used for the traditional, cloth-based scroll painting. This art form is based in the states of West Bengal and Odisha.  It is known for the intricate details and the mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it. All colours used in the Paintings are natural.

This art form in Bengal tradition is is centred around Kalighat (in Kolkata). The theme is Not much devotional.

While in Odisha tradition, it  is centred around Puri. Almost all of the Chitrakar community hails from a small village in Puri district called Raghurajpur. These paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect.

The pattachitra paintings of Odisha are divided into three categories based on the medium. They are as folows:

1. Paintings on cloth or ‘Patta Chitra’
2. Paintings on walls or ‘Bhitti Chitra’
3. Paintings on the palm leaf or “Tala Patra Chitra’

Recently, during his Mann ki Baat programme, the Prime Minister cited the example of Bhagyashree Sahu, young student from Rourkela in Odisha for her keen interest in 'Pattachitra' painting.

GI Tag: The Geographical indication (GI) of Patachitra is registered differently in both the states because style and motif of the paintings in both the state are different.

Patachitra of Odisha is registered as Orissa Pattachitra while that of West Bengal is registered as Bengal Patachitra.

India International Silk Fair: The 8th India International Silk Fair was recently inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister of India, Smriti Zubin Irani, virtually.

 Highlights:

1. The fair is considered to be India’s biggest silk fair.
2. It was held under one roof on Indian Silk Export Promotion Council’s virtual platform from 31st January to 4th February 2021.
3. India International Silk Fair is the Sourcing Fair for silk and silk blend products organised by the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles and sponsored by Department of Commerce.
4. India is the 2nd largest producer of Silk after China.
5. India has long history of silk production and is the largest consumer of silk across the world.
6. Around 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in five states namely, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal.
7. India is the only country in the world which produces all the four major varieties of silk i.e. Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga.

History: The cultivation of silk or Sericulture dates back to the Indus valley Civilization between 2450 BC to 2000 BC.  In the Harappa and Chanhu-daro sericulture was employing wild silk threads from the native silkworm species. Indus silks were obtained from species called Antheraea and Philosamia (eri silk).

India has around 11 Geographical Indications (GI) such as Pochampally Ikat, Kanchipuram Silk, Muga Silk, Chanderpaul Silk, Mysore Silk, Salem Silk, Arni Silk,Champa Silk, Bhagalpur Silk, Banaras Brocade and Sarees etc.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi: Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (1922 –2011) was an Indian vocalist from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He belongs to the Kirana gharana tradition of Hindustani Classical Music. He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs).

Bhimsen Joshi was instrumental in organising the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru, Pandit Sawai Gandharva.

His first live performance was in 1941, when he was only 19. His first album of devotional songs was released by HMV in 1942.

He is remembered for his famous ragas including Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri, Multani, Bhimpalasi, Darbari, Malkauns, Yaman, Asavari Todi, Miyan Ki Malhar and others.

In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi. He received the Bharat Ratna in 2009.

Recently, the year-long Birth Centenary celebrations of doyen of music Pandit Bhimsen Joshi began on February 4, 2021.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the prestigious Akashvani Music Festival has been renamed after Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.  He made this announcement at a Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Centenary Commemorative function which was organized in Pune.

Chauri Chaura Centenary: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. He inaugurated the event through video conferencing on February 4, 2021. The day marks 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura’ incident, a landmark event in the country’s fight for independence.

PM Modi also released a postal stamp dedicated to mark the beginning of centenary celebrations of  the Chauri Chaura incident.

History: The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province (modern Uttar Pradesh) in British India.

In this, a large group of protesters participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police who opened fire. In retaliation the protestors attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all the policemen inside. The incident led to the death of three civilians and 22 policemen.

Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, after this tragic incident.

Aadi Mahotsav: The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu recently inaugurated the National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.

The Aadi Mahotsav 2021 is being organized from February 1-15, 2021.

The festival aims to familiarize the people with the rich and diverse craft, the culture of the tribal communities across the country, in one place.

The Aadi Mahotsav – A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Crafts, Cuisine and Commerce – is an annual initiative being organized by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs since 2017.

At the festival there will be a display and sale of tribal art and craft, medicine & healers, cuisine and folk performances. The event will witness the participation of around 1000 tribal artisans, artists and chefs from more than 20 States of the country who will provide a glimpse of their rich traditional culture.

Economics

Rama Mohan Rao Amara: SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd (SBI Card) has recently appointed Rama Mohan Rao Amara as its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a period of two years.

Rao is a veteran banker, with a successful career spanning over 29 years at SBI, the credit card company. Prior to taking charge at SBI Card, he was the Chief General Manager, SBI Bhopal Circle.

Mr. Rao replaces Ashwini Kumar Tewari, who has been appointed as the Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI).

SBI Card: SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd., previously known as SBI Cards, is a payment solutions provider in India. It is the country’s largest pure play credit card issuer. SBI Card was launched in October 1998 by the State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest bank, and GE Capital. SBI Card is headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana.

MetroNeo: By making a sizeable budgetary allocation for MetroNeo in the Union Budget, the central government has paved the way for the innovative system of mass transport, which could soon be replicated across the country.

Highlights:

1. To be adopted for the first time in the country in Maharashtra’s Nashik, MetroNeo is a comfortable, rapid, energy-efficient and less noisy transport medium.
2. The central government recently urged all state governments to consider using MetroNeo technology in their tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
3. The MetroNeo service consists of electric bus coaches – their lengths varying from 18 to 25 metres – with a carrying capacity of 200 to 300 passengers at a time.
4. The buses will have rubber tyres and draw power from an overhead electric wire with 600-750 V DC supply, similar to railways or trams.
5. The buses will be air-conditioned, with automatic door closing system, level boarding, comfortable seats, passenger announcement system, and an information system with electronic display.
6. The stations will be similar to other Metro rail stations. They will have a staircase, lift and escalators with passenger information display. The station entry and exit will be provided on both sides of the road.

Union Budget 2021-2022: The Union Budget 2021-2022 was presented by the Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st February 2020. It is the first budget of this new decade and also a digital one in the backdrop of unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. She is only the second woman in the history of Independent India to present the Union Budget. Ms. Sitharaman has also presented the General Budget

2019-20 in 2019. The first woman was Smt. Indira Gandhi who presented the Union Budget. In 1970, she presented the Union Budget of India for 1970-71, after she took briefly over the finance portfolio.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman carried the budget documents in a ‘Bahi Khata’ (traditional Indian ledger), a red parcel like bag with a key hole on the emblem, breaking the age-old tradition of carrying a briefcase.

Laying a vision for AatmaNirbhar Bharat, she said that this was an expression of 130 crore Indians who have full confidence in their capabilities and skills.

She said that Budget proposals will further strengthen the Sankalp of Nation First, Doubling Farmer’s Income, Strong Infrastructure, Healthy India, Good Governance, Opportunities for youth, Education for All, Women Empowerment, and Inclusive Development among others.

Additionally, also on the path to fast-implementation are the thirteen promises of Budget 2015-16 which were to materialize during the AmrutMahotsav of 2022, on the 75th year of our Independence. They too resonate with this vision of AatmaNirbharta

The Budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on 6 pillars.

1. Health and Wellbeing
2. Physical & Financial Capital, and Infrastructure
3. Inclusive Development for Aspirational India
4. Reinvigorating Human Capital
5. Innovation and R&D
6. Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

The highlights of this year’s budget:

Health and Sanitation:

 

1. An allocation of ₹69,000 crore for the health sector.
2. A new scheme, titled PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana, to be launched to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare
3. Mission POSHAN 2.0 to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts
4. Operationalisation of 17 new public health units at points of entry
5. Modernising of existing health units at 32 airports, 15 seaports and land ports
6. Expand Jan Aushadhi scheme to provide for all hospitals under Ayushman Bharat by 2025.
7. Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aimed at better water supply nationwide
8. Strengthening of Urban Swachh Bharat Mission

Infrastructure:

1. Budget proposes to provide ₹1.7 lakh crore for transport infrastructure in 2021
2. Vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles –  all vehicles to undergo fitness test in automated fitness centres every 20 years (personal vehicles), every 15 years (commercial vehicles)
3. Highway and road works announced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam
4. National Asset Monetising Pipeline launched to monitor asset monetisation process
5. National Rail Plan created to bring a future ready Railway system by 2030
6. 100% electrification of Railways to be completed by 2023
7. 100 more airports will be developed by 2024 to support UDAN.
8. Metro services announced in 27 cities, plus additional allocations for Kochi Metro, Chennai Metro Phase 2, Bengaluru Metro Phase 2A and B, Nashik and Nagpur Metros
9. National Hydrogen Mission to be launched to generate hydrogen from green power sources
10. Recycling capacity of ports to be doubled by 2024
11. Gas pipeline project to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir
12. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (LPG scheme) to be extended to cover 1 crore more beneficiaries

Agriculture:

1. Agriculture infrastructure fund to be made available for APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure
2. 1,000 more Mandis to be integrated into the E-NAM market place
3. A multipurpose seaweed park to be established in Tamil Nadu
4. Five major fishing hubs, including Chennai, Kochi and Paradip, to be developed

Education:

1. ₹99,300 crore for education sector in 2021 and about ₹3,000 crore for skill development.
2. 100 new Sainik Schools to be set up
3. 750 Eklavya schools to be set up in tribal areas
4. A Central University to come up in Ladakh

Employment:

1. Margin capital required for loans via Stand-up India scheme reduced from 25% to 15% for SCs, STs and women
2. A portal to be launched to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers
3. Social security to be extended to gig and platform workers

Tax:

1. No IT filing for people above 75 years who get pension and earn interest from deposits
2. Reopening window for IT assessment cases reduced from 6 to 3 years. However, in case of serious tax evasion cases (Rs. 50 lakh or more), it can go up to 10 years
3. Affordable housing projects to get a tax holiday for one year
4. Compliance burden of small trusts whose annual receipts does not exceed Rs. 5 crore to be eased
5. Duty of copper scrap and Naphtha reduced to 2.5% respectively
6. Duty on solar inverters raised from 5% to 20%, and on solar lanterns from 5% to 15%
7. Custom duty on gold and silver to be rationalized
8. All nylon products charged with 5% customs duty
9. Tunnel boring machines to attract customs duty of 7%
10. Customs duty on cotton raised from 0 to 10%
11. Agriculture infrastructure and development cess proposed on certain items including urea, apples, crude soyabean and sunflower oil, crude palm oil, kabuli chana and peas

Economy and Finance:

1. Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% of the GDP; estimated to be 6.8% in 2021-22
2. Proposal to allow States to raise borrowings up to 4% of GSDP this year
3. A Unified Securities Market Code to be created, consolidating provisions of the Sebi Act, Depositories Act, and two other laws
4. Proposal to increase FDI limit from 49% to 74%
5. An asset reconstruction company will be set up to take over stressed loans
6. Deposit insurance increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for bank depositors
7. Proposal to decriminalise Limited Liability Partnership Act of 2008
8. Strategic sale of BPCL, IDBI Bank, Air India to be completed
9. Two PSU bank and one general insurance firm to be disinvested this year
10. An IPO of LIC to debut this fiscal

Defence

First women team of CoBRA commando unit: A maiden contingent of 34 CRPF women personnel was recently inducted into its specialized jungle warfare commando force CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action). The contingent would now be deployed in the anti-naxal operations grid of India.

A ceremony was held to mark the induction of women contingent in Kadarpur village wherein the chosen women personnel performed combat drills.

The members of the 34 CRPF women personnel contingents have been chosen from the 6 all-women battalions of CRPF.

About CoBRA:  CoBRA is a special operation unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India. The operation unit is skilled in the guerrilla tactics and jungle warfare. The battalions are one of the most experienced and successful law enforcement units. It is deployed to tackle the insurgent groups who are engaged in asymmetrical warfare.

It established in the year 2009 to counter the Naxalite problem. Currently, there are ten battalions of CoBRA.

The commandos of the CoBRA are required to be mentally and physically tough.

The battalions, until now, were an all-male unit. For the first time, a contingent of women personnel has been inducted into it.

CRPF: It refers to the Central Reserve police Force. The CRPF is largest Central Armed Police Force in India. It was established as the Crown Representative’s Police in July 1939. After Indian Independence, it was renamed as CRPF in accordance with the CRPF Act.

It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),of the Government of India (GoI) MHA is currently headed by Amit Shah. Besides law and order and counter-insurgency duties, the CRPF has played an increasingly large role in India's general elections. Its motto is Service and Loyalty. The current Director-General (DG) of CRPF is A P Maheshwari.

First Women Battalion of CRPF: The first battalion of CRPF numbered 88, was raised this day in 1986 at a CRPF base in Delhi. An all-women brass band of CRPF was also commissioned during the ceremony that was held to mark the 35th Raising Day anniversary of the first women’s battalion of CRPF.

CRPF also raised an all-women pipe band in the year 2012.

45th Rising Day of ICG: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) recently celebrated its 45th Raising Day on 1st February 2021.

The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 1st February 1977, by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Since its inception in 1978, ICG has grown from operating seven surface platforms in 1978 to operating 156 ships and 62 aircraft as on date. It is the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world and is slated to have 200 surface platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025.

The ICG through its tireless pursuits of excellence has established itself as a reliable force that responds with alacrity to situations impinging on the Security of the Coastline, Safety of the Seafaring Community and Coastal Populace.

Despite the restrictions imposed by the ‘COVID-19’ pandemic, Indian Coast Guard has maintained 24x7 vigils in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), by deploying about 50 ships and 12 aircraft daily.

The deterrence at sea and coordinated air surveillance by the service enabled seizure of contraband worth about 1,500 Crore rupees and apprehension of more than 10 foreign fishing boats with 80 miscreants illegally operating in the Indian EEZ alone last year.

The Coast Guard became the first force to deploy women officers in operational roles on board ships. Deputy Commandant Kanchan Jadhav from the Mumbai regional headquarters is among the seven women officers who were trained to operate air-cushion vehicles popularly known as hovercraft.

The moto of IGC is Vayam  “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning “We Protect”. The Coast Guard works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs) and the Central and State police forces. The Director General of IGC is Krishnaswamy Natrajan, PTM, TM, and Additional Director General is Krupa Ram Nautiyal, PTM, TM. 

Ghaznavi: Pakistan successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile called Ghaznavi. The missile was test fired on 3rd February 2021.

About Gaznav: The ballistic missile has a striking capability of up to 290 km. It was launched to mark the culmination of Annual Field Training Exercise of Army Strategic Forces Command.

Missile Ghaznavi can deliver the nuclear and conventional warheads up to a range of 290 km.

Yudh Abhyas: The 16th edition of Indo-US joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ recently began in Rajasthan from 8th February and it will  be concluded in 21st February 2021.

The exercise is being held near the India-Pakistan border.

The main aim of the exercise is to enhance the cooperation and interoperability between the armies of India and USA. The exercise will also focus on the counter-terrorism operation in accordance with the mandate of United Nations.

The bilateral training exercise of the two armies is being held at the Foreign Training Node in the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges.

The Indian Army in ‘Yudh Abhyas’ is being represented by the 11th battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, who are part of the South Western Command while the United States Army delegation is represented by the 2nd battalion troops, 3rd Infantry Regiment of 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, along with the respective brigade headquarters.

About Yudh Abhyas: Yudh Abhyas between two armies is held since 2004. The exercise has been designed to promote the cooperation between both the armies. Both the sides share their training techniques, their culture and build the joint operating skills.

Significance of the Exercise: The Yudh Abhyas between the Indian and the US army in significant with respect to the security challenges, like terrorism, faced by both the nations of global terrorism. The exercise not only signifies the key role that India plays into the Indo-Pacific region but it is also significant with respect to the recent development on the northern border with China.

Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave: The Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave was hosted by India on February 4, 2021.

The event took place in the backdrop of Aero India 2021 which is the largest Aero show of Asia. The Conclave was organized under the theme: "Enhanced Peace, Security, and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean".

The event started with the welcome address of the Defence Secretary and the Defence Ministers of various Indian Ocean Region Countries. The concluding remarks were given by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

This conclave was organized with the objective of addressing the issues related to :

1. The Defence Industry co-operation among the participating countries.
2. Sharing of the resources available in the Indian Defence Shipyards for design and shipbuilding.
3. Sharing of Indian ports with friendly nations.
4. Sharing of the Information to increase the awareness in maritime domain.
5. Maritime surveillance and cooperation.
6. Marine Pollution Response Activities.
7. Information sharing towards the increased maritime domain awareness.
8. Development of technologies and capabilities to harness the marine resources.
9. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

The conclave witnessed the participation of 18 countries. Among them, the Defence Ministers of 4 countries Comoros, Iran Maldives and Madagascar took part in the conclave. Six High Commissioners or Ambassadors participated from 6 countries namely Australia, Kenya, Myanmar, Kuwait, Mauritius and Seychelles.  From 10 countries, the service Chief participated besides, the Defence Secretary of Sudan.

About: The Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave is an initiative to promote dialogue in an economic, institutional, and cooperative environment that can help in fostering the development of stability, peace, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region.

Environment

World Wetland Day: The World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2nd February every year to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet.

This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2021 is 'Wetlands and Water'. It emphasizes the importance of wetlands as a "source of freshwater and encourages action to restore them and stop their loss".

This year's theme for World Wetlands Day is most significant as the UN Decades of Ocean Science and Ecosystem Restoration begins in 2021.

What are wetlands?

Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, fens, rivers, floodplains, and swamps. Coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons, and even coral reefs. Fishponds, rice paddies, and saltpans are human-made wetlands.

Wetlands are found in all countries across climatic zones - from the polar regions to tropical belts and from high altitudes to coastal areas and the arid and dry deserts.

Importance of Wetlands:

Wetlands are some of the world's most fragile and sensitive ecosystems supporting unique habitats for plants and animals, and providing livelihoods to millions of people across the world. Wetlands are also amazing at capturing and storing carbon.

Wetlands are protected places under UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). There are over 2,400 protected wetlands across the world.

Wetlands in India:

 As of December 2020, there are 42 recognized Ramsar sites in India.

According to WWF-India, wetlands are one of the most threatened of all ecosystems in India. The Country's wetlands have been damaged due to loss of vegetation, salinization, excessive inundation, water pollution, invasive species, excessive development, and road building.

The Ramsar Convention: It was signed on 2nd February, 1971. It is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed by member countries. Its main objective is to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.

It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed. Places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site’.

 

The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

Groundhog Day: Groundhog Day is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2nd. It is an annual tradition in which a groundhog predicts whether winter will continue or give way to spring soon.

This year, the groundhog, called “Punxsutawney Phil”, has predicted a longer winter.

Groundhog: The groundhog is also known as a woodchuck. It is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. It's scientific name is Marmota monax. 

It is a lowland creature of North America. It is found through much of the eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.

It is added in the "Least Concern" status by ICUN.

Most people probably know the groundhog as a weather prognosticator; however, those predictions are a mixed bag.

Note: Groundhog Day became more popular after a 1993 film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.

As per the North American tradition, if on February 2, the day is sunny and the groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its own shadow, it is said to predict six more weeks of winter. On the other hand, if the day is cloudy and the animal’s shadow can’t be seen, it is taken to be a sign of milder weather in the following weeks, indicating an early spring season.

Thunderstorm Research Testbed: The IMD (India Metorogical Department) is set to establish the first thunderstorm research testbed of India in Balasore, Odisha.

The main objective of establishing a Testbed is to minimalize the human fatalities and loss of property because of the lightning strikes 

This announcement was made by IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. He also announced that a first-of-its-kind monsoon testbed is also being planned near Bhopal. Both the projects are in the planning stage and detailed project reports are being made.

The thunderstorm testbed will be established in a collaboration between the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The IMD, ISRO and DRDO already have their units in Balasore.

Features of the Thunderstorm Research Testbed:

The testbed will have several observational networks, radar, a full-fledged observatory, auto-station, wind profiler and a microwave radiometer.

Need for Testbed:

There is a need to set up the testbed to predict the thunderstorm and save life because every year, during the months of April to June, many lives are lost in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha because of lightning strikes. On an average, more than 350 people are killed in Odisha because of lightning strikes. As per a report, in the span of nine years (till 2020), 3218 people have died due to lightning.

India Meteorological Department (IMD): IMD is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India (GoI). It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in New Delhi. It functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The current serving DG (Director-General) of IMD is Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

Note: Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra is often nick-named as ‘Cyclone Man of India’ because of his accurate prediction of cyclones in Indian subcontinent.

Energy Island: The Government of Denmark has recently approved a project to build the world’s first energy island. The energy island will be constructed in the North Sea.

The decision to build the energy island was taken in the backdrop of the European Union’s (EU) plan to transform its electricity system to rely on the renewable energy and to increase its offshore wind capacity 25 times by 2050.

Key facts:

1. The project is the largest construction project to be undertaken in Denmark’s history with an estimated cost of around 210 billion Danish crowns.
2. It will be constructed 80 kms off the west coast of Denmark.
3. The energy island will be surrounded by the wind turbines and it will have an initial capacity of 3 gigawatts. The country has planned to make the energy island operational by 2033.
4. The energy island will produce and store enough green energy to meet the electricity needs of three million households in European countries.
5. The hub will strengthen the integration of Europe’s power grids and increase renewable electricity production necessary for a climate-neutral Europe.
6. The artificial island in the North Sea will be equal to the size of the 18 football fields (120,000sq m).
7. This island will be linked to hundreds of offshore wind turbines so as to supply power to the households. Furthermore, the abundance of offshore wind energy can be used to produce climate-friendly fuels for shipping, aviation, heavy industries, or heavy-duty vehicles.

Note: Denmark is currently the largest oil producer in the EU, and it is the biggest producer worldwide to establish a final phase-out date so far.

Kaliveli Wetlands: The Villupuram district administration recently issued the first declaration under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The declaration was issued in a bid to declare Kaliveli wetlands as a bird sanctuary.

The decision is highly appreciated by the Forest Department officials and conservationists as it will help in their efforts to protect this wetland that remains a safe haven for diverse flora and fauna. The first declaration was issued under the Section 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Kaliveli wetlands: The Kaliveli Wetlands is the second-largest brackish water lake in South India. The first largest is the Pulicat lake. The wetlands are ecologically important.

It is located close to Marakkanam on the East Coast Road of the Kaliveli Lake. It is spread over an expanse of 670 sq.km of catchment area. The Kaliveli Lake is connected to the Bay of Bengal through the Uppukalli Creek and the Edayanthittu sanctuary.

The Southern part of the wetland was declared a reserved land in the year 2001.

Note: The faunal diversity of Tamilnadu includes 165 species of fresh water Pisces, 76 species ofAmphibians, 177 species of reptiles, 454 species of birds and 187 species of mammals.

Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act passed by the Parliament of India on August 21, 1972, and later implemented on 9 September 1972. This Act was enacted for the protection of plants, birds and animal species.

The Wildlife Protection Act is an umbrella Act to protect wild animals and plants. This Act includes provisions for protection of plants and animals, hunting, harvesting and various other ancillary matters connected thereto. It has 6 schedules which extend to all over India.

Under this Act, various kinds of penalties are also laid down for the violation of the laws contained therein. This Act contains 66 sections and six schedules.

Before this Act was enacted there were very few national parks.

Indian Policy

Budget 2021-22: Education Sector: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman along with other schemes mentioned a few key reforms for the Education Sector in the country in the Union Budget for 2021-22.

Key highlights:

1. The budget proposes Qualitative Strengthening of 15,000 Schools to include all components of National Education Policy (NEP).
2. It proposes to set up 100 new Sainik Schools in partnership with NGOs/private schools/states.
3. It also proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India as an umbrella body having 4 separate vehicles for standard setting, accreditation, regulation, and funding.
4. A Central University is to be set up in Leh, for providing accessible higher education in Ladakh.

Guidelines for Floating Structure: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways recently issued the draft guidelines for technical specifications of floating structures.

The ministry aims to deploy world-class floating infrastructure all along the coastline in the upcoming projects as per the provisions contained in the guidelines.

The guidelines sets out various technical aspects for implementation of Floating Jetties or Platforms for Marinas, Fishing Harbours or Fish landing centers, Minor Harbors,  Waterdromes and such other similar facilities in coastal areas, estuaries, waterways, rivers and reservoirs. 

These guidelines may also be suitably utilized for floating pontoons or platforms in various waterborne systems and floating wave attenuators or breakwaters for Minor Harbors or Fish Landing facilities.

Floating structure because of its inherent advantages is an attractive solution and it is being promoted by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

What is a floating Jetty?

Floating Jetties also known as the Floating Docks is a platform or ramp supported by pontoons and is usually joined to the shore with a gangway. It can be submerged under a vessel and then raised.

The benefits of floating jetties over the conventional quay and fixed concrete structures are as follows:

• It is a cost-effective solution and much cheaper than conventional structures price.
• Setting up of floating structures is much faster as compared to conventional jetties. Usually, floating structures can be built in 6-8 months as compared to 24 months for conventional structures.
• Its environmental impact is minimal.
• Expansions are easily feasible due to modular construction techniques.
• It is easily transportable in case of reconfiguring of the port.
• It provides constant freeboard between jetties and boats.

Ministry of Shipping: The Ministry of Shipping is a branch of the Government of India (GoI). It is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to shipping. It was founded in 2018. Maritime transport is a critical infrastructure for the social and economic development of a country. It represents the pace, structure and pattern of development of water transport in the country. The Ministry of Shipping encompasses the shipping and port sectors which include shipbuilding and repair, major ports, national waterways and inland water transport. The ministry has been entrusted with the responsibility to formulate policies and programmes on these subjects and their implementation. the current Minister responsible for the Ministry of Shipping is Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Minister of State (Independent Charge).

MoU between MOHUA- Zomato under the PM SVANidhi: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) and Zomato have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme to empower street food vendors with digital technology.

MoHUA has partenered with Zomato for home delivery of street food in six cities.

Under the MoU, it was decided to onboard the street food vendors on the food-tech platform of Zomato. This would help the street food vendors to access online the thousands of consumers and help these vendors to grow their businesses.

As per the MoU, initially MoHUA and Zomato will run a pilot program by on-boarding 300 vendors across six cities namely - Bhopal, Nagpur, Patna, Ludhiana, Raipur and Vadodara.

The street vendors will be empowered with the PAN and FSSAI

They will also be given training on technology & partner app usage, menu digitization % pricing and hygiene & packaging.

MoHUA and Zomato plan to expand this initiative across the country in phases on the successful completion of the project.

The MoHUA also launched the Mobile Application for PMSVANidhi se Samriddhi- Socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families to link them to various Central government Schemes. The application will assist city officials to collect the door-to-door data.

Note: Earlier, on October 5, 2020, in it a first of its kind initiative, MoHUA had signed a MoU with Swiggy to take street food business online under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

PM SVANidhi Scheme: This scheme was launched on June 01, 2020. It was launched in order to provide the affordable working capital loan to street vendors. The scheme was launched to help vendors to resume their livelihoods that were affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. It seeks to benefit over 50 lakh Street Vendors. The scheme provides the vendors a collateral free loan of up to Rs. 10,000, of one year.

Unified Web Portal for Monitoring Progress of GOBARDHAN Activities: A unified web portal has recently been launched to promote GOBAR-DHAN Scheme and monitor its activities across the country. The web portal was jointly launched by the Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh.

Key Highlights:

• Gobardhan is an important component of Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2 for organic solid waste management.
• The scheme is aimed not only at supporting the villages to manage biodegradable and cattle waste but also help in increasing the income of the farmers.
• The mission is used for the organic solid waste management.
• After the introduction of the Gobardhan scheme, the disposal of cattle dung waste has become possible. The scheme will also help to achieve the goal of Open Defecation-Free (ODF) Plus which in turn will prove to be a major step towards increasing cleanliness.
• In addition to achieving the ODF++ target, the Gobardhan scheme will also be helpful in getting ethanol, bio-diesel, and compressed bio-fuel in the upcoming years.

GOBAR-DHAN scheme: GOBAR-DHAN stands for Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources – DHAN scheme. The scheme was launched by Ministry of Jal Shakti (earlier known a Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation).

It is being implemented as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation will work with all the other stakeholders to implement Gobardhan, a unified approach across village.

The scheme focuses on keeping the villages clean, increasing the income of rural households. It also seeks to generate energy like compost, biogas and bio-CNG from cattle waste .

It will prove highly beneficial for India as it is home to the highest cattle population in the world (around 300 million in number) which produces around 3 million tonnes of dung. It will encourage farmers to consider dung and other waste not just as waste but as a source of income.

Gobardhan programme will prove to be a milestone for a Clean India.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin): This mission comprises of the two main components in order to create clean villages. They are:

1. Creating open defecation free (ODF) villages.
2. Managing solid and liquid waste in villages.

Under the scheme, 3.5 lakh villages, 374 districts and 16 States or Union Territories of the country have been declared ODF till date. Thus, the stage is set for ODF-plus activities, including measures to enhance Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM). The GOBARDHAN scheme is also an element under the ODF-plus strategy.

Vehicle scrapping policy: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021 announced a voluntary 'vehicle scrapping policy' in her budget speech at the Parliament. The policy aims to phase out old vehicles and reduce vehicular pollution. The finance minister also announced fitness tests for personal vehicles after 20 years.

The vehicle scrapping policy will come into effect from April 1, 2021.

Presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament, the FM said that the personal vehicles will have to undergo fitness tests in automated centres after 20 years while commercial vehicles will undergo the test after 15 years. This will help in encouraging fuel efficiency, environment friendly vehicles, thereby reducing vehicular pollution and oil import bill.

According to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the scrapping of the vehicles will help reduce the population of old and defective vehicles, lead to a 25-30 percent reduction in vehicular air pollutants and improve road safety. Further, the recycled materials like plastic, steel and copper could be reused and thus reduce costs of vehicles.

This policy has already been approved by the government.

Indian polity

National e-Vidhan (NeVA) Project: Meghalaya State Assembly Speaker Metbah Lygdoh recently visited Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat in Itanagar to get first-hand information about the National e-Vidhan project implemented in the Assembly. He was there on his two day visit.

Arunachal Assembly is the first in the northeast and third in the country to have successfully implemented the ambitious NeVA project.

e-Vidhan: It is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) and it comes under the Digital India Programme. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) is the ‘Nodal Ministry’ for its implementation in all the 31 States/UTs with Legislatures.

The project enables e-Assembly or paperless assembly, which is a concept involving of electronic means to facilitate the work of Assembly. It enables automation of entire law making process, tracking of decisions and documents, sharing of information.

The funding for e-Vidhan is provided by the MoPA and technical support by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The funding of NeVA is on the pattern of Central Sponsored Scheme i.e. 60:40; and 90:10 for North East & hilly States and 100% for UTs.

The main aim of this project is to bring all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform thereby creating a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications.

In addition, live webcasting of Rajya Sabha TV and Lok Sabha TVs is also available on this application. Doordarshan has already been enabled with provision to incorporate similar facility in respect of State Legislatures.

Budget 2021-22: Minimum Government, Maximum Governance: The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman recently presented the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament. It is the first budget of this new decade and also a digital one in the backdrop of unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.

While presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament, the Union Minister for Finance outlined the plans for reforms in one of the 6 pillars of the budget i.e. of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.

Key Higlights:

• The forthcoming Census could be the first digital census in the history of India and has been allocated Rs. 3,768 crore in the year 2021-2022.
• It is proposed to set up a Conciliation Mechanism and mandate its use for quick resolution of contractual disputes to increase ease of doing business, which inturn will instill confidence in private investors and contractors.
• To bring about transparency, efficiency and governance reforms in the nursing profession, The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill will be introduced by the government for passing.
• It is also proposed to take further measures to rationalize the functioning of Tribunals.
• The Centre will give a grant of Rs. 300 crore to the Government of Goa for celebrating the diamond jubilee year of the state’s liberation from Portuguese rule.
• It also proposed to provide Rs. 1,000 crores for the welfare of Tea workers especially women and their children in Assam and West Bengal. A special scheme will be devised for the same.

Parliament Proceedings: The Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, recently warned MPs against using the mobile phones to record the proceedings of the House. He said that unauthorised recordings and its circulation on social media are a breach of Parliamentary privilege and it would be considered as contempt of the House. He even asked the media who started telecasting the clips to stop doing the same since “it is not authorized”. He further added that the media could be “liable for consequences”.

The reason for this action was because some of the opposition MPs used their mobile phones to record the disruption in proceedings which was over the farmer’s protest and the farm bills. These videos were then shared on social media and it was telecasted on television channels as well.

As per the Parliamentary rules, the usage of mobile phones within Rajya Sabha chambers is not allowed.

Rajya Sabha: The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. It is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. At present the Rajya Sabha has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through Open Ballot while the President has the power to appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. The Upper House was founded on 3 April 1952 by the Constituent Assembly of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Its Chairperson is Venkaiah Naidu.

International

Myanmar coup: The military of Myanmar recently staged a coup on 1st February, 2021, detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and declaring it had taken control of the country for one year under a state of emergency.

The intervention came after weeks of rising tensions between the military, which ruled the country for nearly five decades, and the civilian government. The army alleged that the recent landslide election win by Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was marred by fraud.

The military declared, via its own television channel, a one-year state of emergency.

The new army regime announced the establishment of a new State Administrative Council which will be headed by the Army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing. It comprises of total 11 members. Out of the 11 members the eight members are from the military itself.

Tatmadaw said that it has reinstated all the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts in the region and states.

The developments triggered a quick response from the United States and Australia, with both calling for the release of detained NLD leaders and the restoration of democracy.

United State President Joe Biden raised the threat of new sanctions, with the UN and UK also condemning the coup.

Myanmar: Myanmar officially the Republic of the Union of Myanma  was formerly known as Burma. It is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups. It is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The capital of Naypyitaw. The currency used here Burmese kyat.

UK Special Visa Scheme for Hong Kong Residents: The UK, from 2 February 2021 is opening a special visa scheme that will allow lakhs of Hong Kong (HK) residents a chance to migrate and eventually apply for British citizenship.

Visas will be issued to those in Hong Kong who hold a British National (Overseas) passport and their immediate dependents, and will offer a fast track to UK citizenship.

Applicants who get the visa can live and work in the UK for 5 years, after which they apply for settlement. Twelve months after this, they can apply for citizenship.

The move by UK is considered to be the most generous welcoming of foreign workers since the entry of new EU citizens in 2004 — when 10 countries were added to the bloc– at a time when the UK was also a member.

The move comes few months after China implemented a sweeping national security law over the former British colony, taking aim at pro-democracy protests that had captured global attention since 2019.

New START Nuclear Arms Control Treaty: The United States recently extended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) nuclear arms control treaty with Russia for five years. The move was announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

This move seeks to make the world safer as an unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger everyone.

President Joe Biden and his Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed it by phone a week ago, and subsequently Mr Putin signed it into law on Friday.

The treaty had been set to lapse on 5 February, as the Trump administration had refused to approve the extension.

Now the pact has been extended to 5th February 2026.

About: New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague. The treaty went into effect in 2011. Under this treaty, it limits United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each and it also imposes restrictions on the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

Walking While Trans’ Ban: New York Governor has recently signed a bill repealing a controversial law known as the “Walking While Trans” ban. The law has been widely criticized for disproportionately discriminating against transgender people of colour.

‘Walking While Trans’ ban is the colloquial name for a law, which was originally passed in 1976 with the intention of prohibiting loitering for the purpose of prostitution.

The law is widely criticized for its vagueness as it allows New York police to arrest or apprehend someone walking on the street if they suspect that they are sex workers.

While the law is mostly used against women, several men too, have been arrested or detained merely because police suspected that they were “loitering for the purpose of prostitution”.

But the law is known for disproportionately impacting trans women, especially trans women of colour. Between 2012 and 2015, at least 85% of those arrested under the law were Black or Latino people and in 2019 alone, 91% of people arrested under the law belonged to these two groups, and around 80% identified as women.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation:  International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female is observed on 6 February anually across the globe.

This day is sponsored by the United Nations for their efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.

It was first held in 2003.

This year theme of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female 2021 is "No Time for Global Inaction: Unite, Fund, and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation".

The main purpose of observing this day is to promote the elimination of female genital mutilation, coordinated and systematic efforts are needed, and they must engage whole communities and focus on human rights, gender equality, sexual education and attention to the needs of women and girls who suffer from its consequences.

About FMG: Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.  Girls who undergo female genital mutilation face short-term complications such as severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health, mental health and even death.

Proud Boys: Canada has recently announced that it will be designating the US-based far-right group ‘Proud Boys’ as a terrorist entity in an attempt to crack down on “ideologically motivated violent extremism” in the country.

The move comes after members of the Proud Boys were found to have played integral roles in the US Capitol insurrection last month.

With this, the all-male neo-fascist group will be added to a lengthy list of international terrorist organizations, that includes ISIS, Al Qaeda and al-Shabab.

About Proud Boys:

The Proud Boys is an all-male neo-fascist group. It was founded in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder and Canadian-British right-wing activist Gavin McInnes.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, this group is known for their “anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric”.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the group is also known for anti-transgender, anti-immigration and anti-Semitic views.

The members of this group usually don a fixed uniform of red ‘Make America Great Again’ caps from Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and black and yellow polo shirts.

Proud Boys have also been associated with other far-right gatherings and protest marches that have turned violent, such as the infamous ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina in 2017.

National

ASEAN India Hackathon 2021: The Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ recently addressed ASEAN-India Hackathon 2021. The Hacathon is launched by Associan of South Asian Nation (ASEAN) in partnership with Ministry of Education (MoE).

The main objective of this Hackathon is economic development through collaboration in education, science and technology, exchange of thoughtful leadership works.

The ASEAN-India Hackathon is an initiative taken by MoE on the clarion call of PM Modi during the India-Singapore hackathon in the year 2019.

The 10 ASEAN countries who participated in this event are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand and Phillipines. Each country's Nodal Agency participated in the Hackathon. India's Nodal Agency is MoE's Innovaion Cell & All India Council for Technical Education.

The 36 hour Hackathon is being organized online from February 1 to 3, 2021.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal while addressing the Hackathon highlighted the following:

1. The ASEAN-INDIA Hackathon was inaugurated to further strengthen the India and ASEAN ties.
2. The Hackathon would provide a unique opportunity to for all ASEAN countries and India to solve their common identified challenges that are categorized under two themes namely the “Blue Economy” and “Education”, thus providing an opportunity to take forward their economic and cultural ties through their collaboration in education, science and technology.
3. The hackathon would be an enactment of six fundamental virtues of our civilization. They are dialogue, respect, peace, cooperation, prosperity and innovation.
4. The background and the foundation of the India-ASEAN relations lies in the shared beliefs, religions, and culture. India is the largest democratic and the demographic country of the region. Therefore, India being the largest democratic and demographic country of the region has moral responsibility to lead the ASEAN community. In this context he mentioned that India has been extending support to ASEAN countries by providing Covid vaccines.
5. India and ASEAN also share the strong academic and research ties. Various Indian universities such as IIT-Delhi and Tezpur University host students from the ASEAN partner countries.
6. The Government of India (GoI) has also launched 1000 ASEAN PhD Fellowships exclusively for ASEAN citizens.
7. Furthermore, the National Education Policy 2020 would also bring opportunities for India as well the entire world.
8. As per Sanskrit philosophy " Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning " The world is one family", the event will play a positive role in the ASEAN region and the world.

ASEAN: It refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organization and it comprises of 10 countries in Southeast Asia. It was created on 8 August 1967 by 5 countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. The ASEAN Secretariat is located at Jakarta, Indonesia. It was created with an aim to promote intergovernmental cooperation. The organization also facilitates political, economic, military, educational, security, and socio-cultural integration among its members as well as in other countries in Asia. ASEAN has been India’s utmost priority under its Act East Policy. The 10 member countries are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos

India and Sri Lanka: After strong opposition from trade unions across the country, Sri Lanka has unilaterally pulled out of a 2019 agreement with India and Japan for developing the strategic East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port.

Earlier, in 2019, India and Sri Lanka signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for “co-operation on economic projects”. The MoU did not mention the Eastern Container Terminal, but India and Sri Lanka had already been in discussion for its development and operation.

Even though, India and Sri Lanka have seemingly friendly ties and much cultural affinity and people-to-people contact, the relationship is complex.

The reason for this complexity is that the majority Sinhala-Buddhist public opinion is layered with the memory of Indian intervention in the ethnic conflict. Therefore, unlike Chinese projects, big projects by India have always faced opposition in Sri Lanka.

What is the importance of ECT for India?

1. For India, the ECT deal was important as about 60% to 70%  of transhipment that takes place through it is India-linked.
2. The ECT is also considered more strategic than any other in Colombo Port.
3. It is located next to the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) project, a joint venture between China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd. and SLPA.

Aatmanirbharta: The Hindi word 'Aatmanirbharta', meaning self-reliance has been named as its Hindi word of the year 2020 by the Oxford Languages.

The word 'aatmanirbharta' was chosen as it “validated the day-to-day achievements of the countless Indians who dealt with and survived the perils of a pandemic”.

It was chosen by an advisory panel of language experts comprising Imogen Foxell, Poonam Nigam Sahay and Kritika Agrawal.

Background: The Oxford Hindi World of the Year in 2019 was Samvidhaan as the panelists felt that in 2019, the abrogation of Article 370 and the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute brought attention to the Constitution.

The other previous Hindi words were Nari Shakti in 2018 and in 2017 it was Aadhaar.

Oxford Word of the Year: Oxford’s Word of the Year is a word or an expression that has attracted a great deal of interest in the preceding year.

For 2020, Oxford Languages has not chosen a single word in English since they believe that the year cannot be summed up using one single word.

Therefore, this year they have released a report titled, “Words of an Unprecedented Year” in which they have analyzed themes such as COVID-19 and terms related to it such as lockdown, social distancing, Black Lives Matter etc.

The previous English words of the year in 2019, was “climate emergency”, in 2018 it was “toxic” and in 2017 it was “Youthquake”.

India and Bahrain: The 1st meeting of the Joint Working Group between India and Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of Renewable Energy held virtually on February 4, 2021. The meeting was held for promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy.

The Bahraini delegation was led by H.E. Dr. Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza who is the President of Sustainable Energy Authority while the Indian delegation was led by E. Mr. Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. The meeting was also attended by the H.E. Sh. Piyush Srivastava who is the Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Background: A MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between India and Bahrain was signed in July 2018 for promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy.

Highlights:

1. In the meeting that took place in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, it was agreed to hold the next round of JWG meetings at mutually convenient dates, which will be decided through diplomatic channels.
2. Both sides also agreed to forge deeper engagement in capacity building and focused cooperation between concerned agencies as well as the private sector of the two countries in this sector, particularly in the field of solar, wind and clean hydrogen.

Bahrain: Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a sovereign state in the Persian Gulf. The island nation is situated between the Qatari peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, The island nation comprises a small archipelago made up of 51 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered around Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. The Capital of Bahrain is Manama. The currency used here is Bahraini dinar. The current King of Bahrain is Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Sub-categorization of OBCs: The Union Cabinet has recently approved an extension to the commission appointed to examine sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes. The commission headed by Justice G Rohini, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court now has until July 31 to submit its report.

Sub-Categorization of OBCs: Sub-categorization of OBCs means creating categories within OBCs for reservation.

Need for Sub-Categorization:

1. OBCs are granted 27% reservation in jobs and education under the central government.
2. In September 2020, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reopened the legal debate on sub-categorization of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for reservations.
3. The debate arises out of the perception that only a few affluent communities among the over 2,600 included in the Central List of OBCs have secured a major part of this 27% reservation.
4. The argument for sub-categorisation — or creating categories within OBCs for reservation — is that it would ensure “equitable distribution” of representation among all OBC communities.

To examine this, The Rohini Commission was constituted under Article 340 of the Constitution, headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini in October, 2017.

Note: Before the Rohini Commission was set up, the Centre had granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

Provisions for Reservation in India for OBC:

The Kalelkar Commission set up in 1953, for the first time identified the backward classes other than the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the national level.

The Mandal Commission Report of 1980 estimated the OBC population at 52% and classified 1,257 communities as backward class .It recommended an increase in existing quotas from 22.5% to 49.5% which to include the OBCs.

The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provided constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), which was previously a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

People In News

R Pappammal: She is a 105 year old organic farmer from Coimbatore who has been conferred the Padma awards. She is possibly the oldest living recipients from the list is 105-year-old who has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri.

Pappammal is from a family of agriculturists. She owns a 2.5-acre farm in her village. She used to grow lentils such as horse gram and green gram but now she mostly grows bananas. Over the years, she has worked closely with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. She would travel alone to their many farmers’ meets and implement all that she learned. She also had a stint as a councillor of the Thekkampatti panchayat in 1959. She also attends several village functions where they seek her blessings.

Eleven other people from various fields in Tamil Nadu have been conferred the Padma awards. The folowing are the highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan awardees:

• Late playback singer SP Balasubramanyam,
• Subbu Arumugam (Art)
• P Anitha (Sports)
• KC Sivasankar (posthumously; Arts)
• P Subramanian (posthumously; Trade & Industry)
• Dr Thiruvenkadam Veeraraghavan (posthumously; Medicine)
• K Kesavasamy (Arts)
• Solomon Pappaiah (Literature)
• Bombay Jayashri Ramnath (Art)
• KC Sivasankar (posthumous; Art)
• Marachi Subburaman (social work)
• Sridhar Vembu (Trade and Industry)

AR Rahman: Oscar Award-winning music director was recently presented the fourth edition of the Alert Being Awards 2020 by the NGO for his Good Samaritan work. AR Rahman was presented the ‘Alert Being ICON Award’ as an individual

Along with him, social activist from Saidapet Hari Krishnan were among the 14 people who were presented the award.

The Alert Being Icon Award for an organization was presented to the Biocon Foundation founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Thirty COVID-19 warriors were honoured with Alert Being Covid Frontline Warrior for their contribution during the pandemic.

AR Rahman: Allahrakha Rahmanthe known professionally as A. R. Rahman is an Indian composer, musician, singer, and music producer who works predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films. His original name was A.S. Dileep Kumar. He was the son of a Tamil film composer.  In 2010, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award. Among Rahman's awards are 6 National Film Awards, 2 Academy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, 15 Filmfare Awards and17 Filmfare Awards South.

Dalai Lama: He is a Tibetan spiritual leader who recently launched his new book “The Little Book of Encouragement”.  The book has been edited by Renuka Singh and published by Penguin Random House.

The Little Book of Encouragement comprises of 130 quotes related to - how to deal with the new realities of the panic-stricken world, combat rising extremism, polarity and climate change besides Dalai Lama’s views on Tibet.

About Dalai Lama: His spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso was born in Lhamo Dhondup on 6 July 1935. He is the current 14th Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the successor tulkus who are considered a living Bodhisattva, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara.

Dalai Lama title has been given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism.

During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama escaped to India, where he currently lives in exile while remaining the most important spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama advocates for the welfare of Tibetans while continuing to call for the Middle Way Approach to negotiations with China for the autonomy of Tibet and the protection of Tibetan culture, including for the religious rights of Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 1989, and the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2006. Time magazine named the Dalai Lama one of the "Children of Mahatma Gandhi" and Gandhi's spiritual heir to nonviolence.

S.N. Subrahmanyan: The Ministry of Labor and Employment has recently appointed Shri S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Ltd, as Chairman of the National Safety Council for a period of three years.

The NSC will assist DGFASLI in re-writing the regulations governing OSH in the country which have not been updated for over 50 years. The NSC will also be involved in framing the scheme for third party audit and certification under the OSH Code.

The NSC is already working on establishments’ safety rating based on their OSH readiness and performance, which can be extended through the country and linked to the inspection system.

About National Safety Council: The NSC was established by The Ministry of Labour of the Government of India (GoI) in 1966. It is a non-profit tripartite body registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 and the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950. It was to initiate, develop and maintain voluntary campaigns on Safety, Health and the Environment at the national level. It is headquartered in Navi Mumbai.

 Its activities include organizing and carrying out specialized training programs and courses, conferences, seminars and workshops; conducting consultancy studies, such as safety audits, safety levels, hazard evaluation and risk assessments; designing and developing HSE promotional materials and publications; promote Organizations to celebrate and observe various campagins, such as National Safety Day and Week, Fire Service Week, World Environment Day and Road Safety Week.

 Its Board of Governors consists of members from the government, employers’ organizations and trade union organizations. The chairperson of the NSC is appointed by the government and is usually a prominent industrialist.

Praveen Sinha: Praveen Sinha, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer has recently been appointed as as the interim director of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), with immediate effect on 3rd February 2021.

He was chosen by The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He has been appointed by The Department of Personnel and Training, run by Personnel Ministry, in place of the incumbent chief Rishi Kumar Shukla, whose tenure came to an end on 3rd February 2021.

He is currently an additional director at Central Bureau of Investigation, the premier investigating agency of India. He shall look after the duties of Director Central Bureau of Investigation till the appointment of new director Central Bureau of Investigation, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Places In News

Maharashtra: Maharashtra is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It was formed on 1 May 1960 by merging the western and south-western parts of the Bombay State, Berar and Vidarbha, and the north-western parts of the Hyderabad State and splitting Saurashtra (in present-day Gujarat) by the States Reorganisation Act. Its capital is Mumbai. The Chief Minister and the Governor of Maharashtra are Uddhav Thackeray and Bhagat Singh Koshyari respectively.

Recently, Maharashtra has retained its top rank in the second edition of the India Justice Report (IJR) – 2020, which is India’s only ranking of states on delivery of Justice to people.

Maharashtra retained its number one position among 18 large and mid -sized states (with a population of over one crore each).

Tamil Nadu and Telangana were second and third respectively in the same category.

Among the 7 small states (where the population is less than one crore each), Tripura has topped the list followed by Sikkim and Goa.

About IJR: The India Justice Report (IJR) is an initiative of Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and How India Lives. The rankings of the states are based on publicly available data of different government entities on the four pillars of justice delivery which are police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.

The first edition of IJR was released in 2019.

Little Andaman: The little Andaman is the part of the Little Andaman Group. This is the fourth largest island in Andamans and is at about a distance of 120 Kilometers by sea from the Port Blair. It is famous for its main village and the largest settlement on the island called Hut Bay also known as the Kwate-tu-kwage.  The island is home to Onge Tribes apart from other multilingual settlers of Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Ranchi communities.

Recently, NITI Aayog (Think tank of India) has released its plan for Little Andaman named as “Sustainable Development of Little Andaman Island Vision Document”.

It has been planned for the sustainable and holistic development of the island in Andaman and Nicobar.

The Little Andaman is a 680 sq km fragile Island in the Andaman in the Andaman and Nicobar group. The fragile environment of the Island has raised alarm among conservationists. 

The Prime Minister, Modi also declared in the year 2020 that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will be developed as a “maritime and start-up hub”. The document by NITI Aayog has been formulated in that context only.

As per the document, the new little Andaman will be built through a new greenfield coastal city. This city will be developed as a free trade zone. It has planned to develop the city as a free trade zone. It will also compete with Singapore and Hong Kong.

The developmental plan has been divided into three zones:

Zone 1: It is being developed as the monetary district and is spread over 102 sq km in the east coast of Little Andaman. It would also comprise of medi metropolis and can embody an aerocity, tourism and hospital district.

Zone 2: It is a leisure zone that is spread over 85 sq km of pristine forest. It would comprise of movie metropolis, a residential district and a tourism Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Zone 3: It would be a nature zone and spread over 52 sq km of pristine forest.

The main Purpose of the Government is:

• To invest in the strategic location and natural features of the island because this island is critical for India’s security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• To provide a better infrastructure and connectivity to the island that will, in turn, help India to enhance its military and naval strength in the islands.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a Union territory of India comprising 572 islands of which 37 are inhabited, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west. The territory's capital is the city of Port Blair. The territory is divided into three districts: Nicobar District with Car Nicobar as capital, South Andaman district with Port Blair as capital and North and Middle Andaman district with Mayabunder as capital. The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces. The current Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Island is Admiral D K Joshi.

West Bengal: West Bengal is a state in eastern India. It lies between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. It borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata. It was established on 26 January 1950. The current Chief Minister and Governor of West Bengal are Mamta Banerjee and Jagdeep Dhankhar respectively.

Recently, West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who became the first woman to present the West Bengal Budget, has announced the setting up of ‘Netaji Battalion’ in Kolkata Police department in the coming months.

She had to present the West Bengal Budget 2021 as Finance Minister Amit Mitra has been placed ‘under medical supervision’.

In 2002, she had become the first woman to present the Union Railways Budget.

While proposing a budget of Rs 2,99,688 crore for 2021-22, she said that there would also be an Azad Hind Bhawan in all the districts besides the formation of Netaji State Planning Commission (similar to Niti Aayog) in West Bengal.

Earlier, she had announced to set up 'Narayani battalion', 'Gorkha battalion' and 'Jangalmahal battalion', considering the sentiments and struggle of Narayani sena, Gorkhas and tribal people in Bengal.

New Delhi: It is an urban district located in the city of Delhi. New Delhi officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is a city and a union territory of India. It serves as the capital of India is the seat of the State Government of Delhi and the Government of India, as well as the city or local governments as per the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Union Territories are governed by the Union Government. The current Chief Minister and Governor of Delhi are Arvind Kejriwal and  Anil Baijal respectively.

Recently, Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign. The campaign was launched to promote the use of electric vehicles.

The CM appealed to people to buy such vehicles to combat pollution in the city. He also appealed the big companies, market association, delivery chains, malls & Cinemas and resident welfare associations to promote the use of electric vehicles.

He further appealed them to set up the charging stations in their respective premises.

 He highlighted that his government will hire only electric vehicles for various purposes in the next six weeks.

Aim: The main aim of the ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign is to create the awareness regarding the advantages of using electric vehicles and also raise the awareness about how it can help in combating the air pollution in Delhi and making Delhi clean and pollution-free.

Electric Vehicle Policy of Delhi: Under its electric vehicle policy, the Delhi government has planned extensive subsidies on purchase of electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers, besides waiving road tax and registration charges.

The government has also issued tenders for setting up 100 charging stations across the city.

The government has fixed an ambitious target of 25% electric vehicles among total vehicle registrations in Delhi by 2024.

Note: Ever since the electric vehicle policy was launched, over 6,000 electric vehicles have been sold out.

Science and Technology

Stardust 1.0: The launch vehicle Stardust 1.0 was recently launched from Loring Commerce Centre in Maine, US, a former military base.

The launch of the vehicle is significant as it has become the first-ever commercial space launch powered entirely by biofuel. In addition it is also the first-ever commercial launch for the US State Maine.

About Stardust 1.0:

1. The rocket is manufactured by Maine-based aerospace company bluShift.
2. It is totally is non-toxic for the environment as opposed to traditionally used rocket fuels.
3. The launch vehicle is suitable for student and budget payloads.
4. It is 20 feet in height and approximately 250 kg in weight.
5. It can carry a maximum payload mass of 8 kg.
6. These rockets will help to launch small satellites called cubesats into space in a way that is relatively cheaper than using traditional rocket fuel and is less toxic for the environment.

In its first launch, the rocket carried three payloads including, a metal alloy which is designed to lessen vibrations, a CubeSat prototype which was built by high school students, and a CubeSat that was procured from software company Rocket Insights.

BluShift: It is an aerospace company based in Maine, US. The startup was founded in the year 2014 and has received grants from the Maine Technology Institute and NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as it embarks on a quest to become the 'Uber for space.'

This company is involved in developing the rockets powered by bio-derived fuels. It was manufacturing the Stardust 1.0 launch vehicle since 2014.

The company is also developing other rockets such as Stardust Gen. 2, Starless Rouge, and Red Dwarf.

Biofuel: Biofuel is the fuel produced through the contemporary processes from biomass which can directly be converted into liquid fuels. It can be used as transportation fuels. It is not produced by the usual slow geological processes of formation of fossil fuels like oil.

The two most common kinds of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel. They both represent the first generation of biofuel technology. Biodiesel is produced by combining alcohol with new and used vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled cooking grease while Ethanol is renewable and made from different kinds of plant materials.

MCA21 Version 3.0: India’s Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2021 speech has proposed the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Data Analytics for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs will launch the data Analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning driven MCA21 Version 3.0. by October 2021 in the financial year 2020-21.

The MCA21 version 3.0 system is the Mission Mode e-Governance project of India. 

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs highlighted that the new MCA-21 V 3.0 will have features of the additional modules for e-Adjudication, e-Consultation and Compliance Management. All these features are aimed at improving the authenticity and comprehensiveness of corporate

It may also make the current registrar of companies (RoC) appear obsolete.

New protein based Biosensors: A team of researchers led by David Baker, who is the professor of biochemistry and director of the Institute for Protein Design at UW Medicine, have recently created a new protein-based biosensor that will detect the Corona Virus.

The protein-based biosensors will detect the proteins that make up the pandemic coronavirus. It would also help in detecting the antibodies against it. The biosensor will glow when mixed with components of the virus or specific COVID-19 which in turn will enable the faster and more widespread testing.

Bhavya Lal: Indian-American Bhavya Lal was recently appointed by NASA as the Acting Chief of Staff of the US space agency.

She will be responsible for the day-to-day operations at NASA’s headquarters and will work towards shaping the strategic direction of the space agency.

Earlier, she served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and oversaw the agency’s transition under the administration of President Joe Biden.

NASA: It is an acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. The Administrator of NASA is Jim Bridenstine and the Deputy Administrator of NASA is James Morhard.

Budget 2021-22 - Science and Technology: To strengthen the overall research ecosystem of the country, the Union Budget FY 2021-22 announced a slew of new initiatives to boost Innovation and R&D in the country. While presenting the Budget in Parliament today, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed initiatives covering digital payments, space sector and deep ocean explorations.

The key highlights of the initiatives are as follows:

National Research Foundation: The Finance Minister proposed an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore, spread over five years, for National Research Foundation.

Boost to digital payments: Rs 1,500 crore has been proposed for a scheme that will provide financial incentive to promote digital modes of payment and further boost digital transactions.

National Language Translation Mission (NTLM): A new initiative called National Language Translation Mission (NTLM) has been proposed that will digitise the wealth of governance-and-policy related knowledge on the Internet and be made available in major Indian languages.

Indias’ Space Sector: New Space India Limited (NSIL), a PSU under the Department of Space, will execute the PSLV-CS51 launch, carrying the Amazonia Satellite from Brazil, along with a few smaller Indian satellites.

Four Indian astronauts are also being trained on Generic Space Flight aspects, in Russia for the Gaganyaan Mission, slated to be launched for December 2021.

Deep Ocean Mission: To better understand the realm of Oceans Smt. Sitharaman proposed to launch a Deep Ocean Mission with a budget outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crores, over five years.

Vaccine Maitri Initiative: It is an initiative launched by India to gift COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries. Under this initiative, Sri Lanka and Bahrain have recently received the COVID-19 vaccines from India.

The Vaccine Maitri initiative was launched by India on January 20 to gift COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries.

About the initiative:

Sri Lanka has received 5 lakh Covid-19 vaccines from India and consignment of vaccines has also been sent to Bahrain. The country will receive 10,800 vaccines as a part of the “Vaccine Maitri” initiative.

Before Sri Lanka and Bahrain, under this initiative, India has already delivered over 5 million doses to 7 countries in the neighbourhood.

The 7 countries are-

1. Nepal (1 million vaccines)
2. Bangladesh (2 million vaccines)
3. The Maldives (100,000 vaccines)
4. Bhutan (150,000 vaccines)
5. Myanmar (1.5 million vaccines)
6. Mauritius (100,000 vaccines)
7. Seychelles (50,000 vaccines)

Commercial supplies of Covishield have also been sent to Morocco, Brazil, (2 million doses each), and Bangladesh (5 million doses).

The COVID-19 vaccination programme started in India on January 16, 2021, with the two approved vaccines (Emergency-use) – Covaxin and Covishield.

In phase 1, health workers are being vaccinated followed by people who are above the age of 50 years.

Sunflower seed-sized chameleon: A team of scientists have recently found a sunflower seed-sized subspecies of a chameleon in Madagascar.

The scientists discovered two miniature lizards, one male and the other female. The male lizard dubbed Brookesia nana or nano-chameleon is merely 13.5 mm (0.53 inches) long. This is the smallest of all the roughly 11,500 known species of reptiles.

The researchers believe the male chameleon could be the tiniest reptile on the planet.

Sports

RYSK Scheme: It refers to the Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram Scheme. RYSK scheme is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and has been continuing since 12th Five Year Plan.

The budget allocation of the scheme RYSK for the year 2020-21 is Rs.486.48 Crores.

The Scheme aims to develop the personality and leadership qualities of the youth and to engage them in nation building activities.

The beneficiaries of this scheme are the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘youth’ in the National Youth Policy, 2014. Similarly, in case of programme components specifically meant for the adolescents, the age-group is 10-19 years.

RYSK is an umbrella scheme.

The 7 sub-schemes under scheme RYSK are:

• Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS).
• National Youth Corps (NYC).
• National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD).
• International Cooperation (IC).
• Youth Hostels (YH).
• Assistance to Scouting and Guiding Organisations
• National Discipline Scheme (NDS)
• National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP).

Khelo India Zanskar: The 13 day long Khelo India Zanskar winter sports and youth festival recently concluded at Zanskar Valley of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The festival was organized to showcase potential in adventure tourism and sports and aims to open a new arena in Ladakh for adventure and economy. It is one of the biggest events that has been organised to promote winter tourism in Ladakh.

The 13 day long festival which started on January 18th concluded on Saturday, January 30th 2021. The festival was organized by the Ladakh UT Administration to promote Zanskar as winter tourists' destination.

The main features of the festival were Ice Climbing, trekking on frozen Zanskar River, Ice Hockey, snow sculpture and ethnic food festival.

Zanskar Winter Sports and Youth festival introduced as an annual event in Zanskar to showcase its potential in adventure tourism and sports.

Nitish Singh: Mountaineer Nitish Singh from Gorakhpur, UP, On 72nd Republic Day, made India proud by hoisting the Indian National Flag from the topmost point of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. He now plans to scale top 7 highest peaks.

About MT. Kilimanjaro: Mount Kilimanjaro is around 5,895 metres above sea level, and it is also the highest single free-standing mountain in the world. It is the world’s fourth most topographically prominent peak

Merv Hughes: He is a former right-arm fast bowler who has recently been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

The 59-year-old played 53 Tests and 33 ODIs for Australia in a career spanning from 1985 to 1994, during which he captured 212 Test wickets and 38 ODI wickets.

His career-best figures of 8-87 against the West Indies at the WACA in 1988 included the final wicket of a hat-trick spread across three separate overs, two innings and two different days.

In 2005, Hughes became a selector for the Australian cricket team, a role he would hold through until 2010.

Hughes has worked as a national selector, bowling coach and broadcaster since retirement

Asian Online Shooting Championship: India's 24-member shooting contingent has topped the medals tally in the first-ever Asian Online Shooting Championship, organised by Kuwait Shooting Federation.

The Indian squad won total 11 medals, which included four gold medals, two silver and five bronze medals.

274 shooters from 22 Asian countries took part in the competition.

The Asian Online Shooting Championship are the first Formal met for the Indian shooters after the pandemic. The championships took place for 4 events.

They are:

1. Pistol
2. Rifle
3. Trap
4. Skeet

List of Medal Winners from India:

Gold

1. Saurabh Chaudhary – men’s 10m air pistol
2. Divyansh Singh Panwar- men’s 10m air rifle
3. Kynan Chenai – men’s trap
4. Rajeshwari Kumari – women’s trap

Silver

1. Arjun Babuta – men’s 10m air rifle
2. Shreyasi Singh – women’s trap

Bronze

1. Manu Bhaker – women’s 10m air pistol
2. Sarabjot Singh – men’s 10m air pistol
3. Deepak Kumar – men’s 10m air rifle
4. Prithviraj Tondaiman – men’s trap
5. Manish Keer – women’s trap

Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy: Tamil Nadu recently won the beat the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2020-21 by beating Baroda in the finals.

The tournament was the 12th edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It was played at Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera Stadium), Ahmedabad.

The Player of the match title was won by Manimaran Siddharth (Tamil Nadu) who picked 4 wickets, conceding 20 runs.

Tamil Nadu team was lead by Dinesh Karthik (captain). This is the second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title for Tamil Nadu and their first title in 13 years.

The team claimed their first SMAT title in 2006-07, that too under Karthik’s captaincy.

Recent News: India and Bengal pacer Ashoke Dinda recently announced retirement from all formats of cricket. He has featured in 13 ODIs and nine T20Is for India and had switched to Goa from Bengal earlier this season. The 36-year-old last played in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Joe Root: He is the England cricket team captain who has Root became the first batsman to score a double hundred in his 100th Test.

Leading the side from the front, Joe Root completed his 5th double century in the ongoing Test between India and England in Chennai.

Root reached the feat in some style, as he whacked R Ashwin over the long-on fence, making him the first-ever player to complete a double-century in his 100th Test appearance.

Meanwhile, Root's incredible feat also saw him becoming the English captain with the highest individual score in India.

The previous highest score by a batsman playing his 100th Test was 184 by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, also against India in Bengaluru (March 2005).

Ajay Singh: Ajay Singh who is also the chairman of Spicejet airlines has been re-elected as the president of Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

He defeated former Sports Minister of Maharashtra Ashish Shelar in a high-profile contest to get re-elected as president of Boxing Federation India for a second term.

Hemanta Kumar Kalita was elected secretary, beating C.V. Raje.

As for his second tenure, Singh said that BFI would work towards developing boxing at the grassroot level and conducting more open championships. He also promised a stronger sports science back-up for boxers and focus on women's boxing.

About BFI: Boxing Federation India (BFI) was established on February 25, 1949. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Arts

World Heritage Day: World Heritage Day is also known as The International Day for Monuments and Sites.

1. This day is an international observance held on 18 April each year around the world.
2. The day is observed to preserve the human heritage and recognize the efforts of all the relevant organizations in the field.
3. The theme for 2021 is “Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures”.

History of World Heritage Day:

1. The ICOMOS organization was established on the principles put down in the Venice Charter, also known as the 1964 International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites.
2. During a seminar in Tunisia, the International Council of Mountains and Sights suggested celebrating World Heritage Day on 18 April 1982.
3. Then, in November 1983, at the 22nd session of the UNESCO Conference, a resolution to celebrate World Heritage Day was passed on April 18 every year.

What is a World Heritage site?

1. A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization as of cultural importance.
2. World Heritage Day gives us an opportunity to conserve and preserve our heritage culture which is of ancient significance.
3. They have an outstanding universal value.
4. Sites are nominated to and designated by the World Heritage Convention.
5. The Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the basic need to preserve the parity between both.
6. The most significant feature of the 1972 World Heritage Convention is that it binds together in a single document ‘the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties’.

World Heritage Sites in India:

1. India is home to 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, out of the 1121 such spots identified around the world.
2. Of these, 30 are ‘cultural’, such as the Ajanta Caves, Fatehpur Sikri, Hampi monuments and the Mountain Railways of India; 7 are classified as ‘Natural’, including Kaziranga, Manas and Nanda Devi National Parks; One is classified as ‘Mixed’, the Khangchendzonga National Park. In 2019, ‘Jaipur City’ became the 38th addition to the India list under Culture.
3. So far, only China, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France have more locations on the list than India.

English Language Day: English Language Day is celebrated on 23 April annually.

1. This day is a United Nations (UN) observance day.
2. The day coincides with both the birthday and death day of William Shakespeare and World Book Day.

History:

1. The day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010 to celebrate the English language and multilingualism.
2. English Language Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Global Communications to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages, which are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, through the organization.
3. It established language days for each of the Organization’s six official languages. They are as follows:

1. Arabic (18 December)
2. Chinese (20 April)
3. English (23 April)
4. French (20 March)
5. Russian (6 June)
6. Spanish (23 April) 

1. The day also aims to entertain and inform people across the globe about the history, culture and achievements associated with the language.

 

Note: English is the most widely spoken language or a "world language". Therefore, it is known as lingua franca of the modern era.

Along with French, English is also the working language of the United Nation (UN).

Economics

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has recently launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS).

Highlights

1. The Fund aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.
2. An amount of 945 crore rupees corpus will be divided over the next 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.
3. The scheme is expected to support an estimated 3,600 startups through 300 incubators.
4. The SISFS will Secure seed funding, Inspire innovation, Support transformative ideas, Facilitate implementation, and Start startup revolution.

1. This Scheme will create a robust startup ecosystem, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns of India, which are often deprived of adequate funding.

Tenure of Bank CEOs and MDs: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently laid down set of instructions to improve the corporate bank governance.

About the RBI Guidelines:

1. The RBI Guidelines are as follows:
2. The post of MD and CEO shall not be held by the same person for more than 15 years. However, they can be reappointed after a cooling period of three years.
3. During the cooling period, the individual shall not be appointed or associated with the bank or its group entities directly or indirectly.
4. The MD or the CEO shall not hold these posts more than twelve years. However, in extraordinary circumstances, they shall be allowed to continue till 15 years.
5. The guidelines are not applicable to the foreign banks whose branches are operating in the country.
6. The maximum age limit of the Chairman or the Non-Executive Director has been fixed at 75 years.
7. The fixed remuneration for the Non-Executive Directors shall not exceed Rs 20 lakhs.

 Note: Remuneration is the money paid for work.

Why are the changes important?

1. The changes are being made based on a discussion paper on governance in commercial banks in India released by RBI in the year 2020.
2. According to RBI, the growing size of financial systems in India makes it essential to strengthen governance standards in the banks.
3. The current system where the management of the banks play the role of an agent of the board and the board in turn plays the role of agent of shareholders has led to poor allocation of resources and poor protection of depositors.
4. Therefore, these changes are important.

Why are the guidelines needed?

1. Recently, the space vacated by the public sector banks has been taken by the private sector banks.
2. Inadequate system of checks prevails at the private banks of the country.
3. The lenders are at risk of default rates though there has been overall improvement in asset quality.

About RBI:

1. It refers to the Reserve Bank of India.
2. The RBI is India's central bank, which controls the issue and supply of the Indian rupee.
3. It carries out India's monetary policy and exercises supervision and control over banks and non-banking finance companies in India.
4. RBI was set up in 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act,1934.
5. It is headquartered in Mumbai.
6. RBI plays an important part in the Development Strategy of the Government of India.
7. The current Governor of RBI is Shaktikanta Das.

Cybersecurity Norms for Payment Service: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided that to issue cybersecurity norms for payment service providers (PSPs) soon.

Key Points:

• This decision was taken following a series of data breaches faced by operators including Mobikwik and payment aggregator JusPay.
• While the standards for fintech-driven payment services providers will be similar to cyber hygiene norms issued recently for banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), the RBI is quite clear that firms will have to do more than observe the minimum standards to ensure safety as digital transactions gain further traction.
• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had laid down a framework for a more even distribution of share of third-party app providers in the UPI system.

About NPCI:

• It refers to the National Payment Corporation of India.
• NPCI is an umbrella organization for all retail payments in India.
• It was founded in 2008.
• It has been incorporated as a Not for Profit Company under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013).
• It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The current MD & CEO is Dilip Asbe.

Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH): The Fifth session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) recently began virtually with India as the Host and Spices Board India serving as the secretariat of Committee.

CCSCH is established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).

About CCSCH:

To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, CCSCH was formed in 2013 with support of more than a hundred countries with India as the host country and Spices Board India as the Secretariat for organizing the sessions of the committee.

The CCSCH, since its inception, has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs.

The committee, in its past four sessions has developed and finalized standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic.

About Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC):

Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body. It was established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

Defence

VARUNA-2021: The 19th edition of the Indian and French Navy bilateral exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ is scheduled to be conducted in the Arabian Sea from 25th to 27th April 2021.

Highlights:

• From the Indian Navy’s side, guided missile stealth destroyer Kolkata, guided missile frigates Tarkash and Talwar, Fleet Support Ship Deepak, with Seaking 42B & Chetak integral helicopters, a Kalvari class submarine and P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, will participate in the exercise.
• The French Navy will be represented by the Aircraft Carrier Charles-de-Gaulle with Rafale-M fighter, E2C Hawkeye aircrafts and helicopters Caïman M and Dauphin embarked, Horizon-class Air defense destroyer Chevalier Paul, Aquitaine-class multi-missions frigate Provence with a Caïman M helicopter embkared and Command and supply ship Var.
• The Indian side will be led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, while the French side will be led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.
• The three day exercise will see high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, intense fixed and rotary wing flying operations, tactical manoeuvres, surface and anti-air weapon firings, underway replenishment and other maritime security operations.
• Units of both navies will endeavour to enhance and hone their war-fighting skills to demonstrate their ability as an integrated force to promote peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.

VARUNA-21 highlights growing bonhomie and showcases increased levels of synergy, coordination and inter-operability between the two friendly navies.

Single Crystal Blades Technology: In a major technological breakthrough, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) recently developed single crystal blade technology and it has supplied 60 of them to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the company’s indigenous helicopter development program for helicopter engine application.

About:

• It is part of a programme taken up by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), a laboratory of the DRDO.
• The DRDO will develop total five sets 300 in number, of single crystal high pressure turbine (HPT) blades using a nickel-based super alloy.
• They supply of other 4 sets will be completed in due course.
• This single crystal blades technology has been developed by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), one of the DRDO’s laboratories.
• A few countries such as the US, the UK, France and Russia have the capability to design and manufacture single crystal components.

What is the use of single crystal blades in helicopters?

Helicopters need compact and powerful aero-engines for operating at extreme conditions and as single crystal blades have complex shape and geometry and are manufactured out of nickel-based superalloys, they are capable of withstanding high temperatures.

About DRDO:

• DRDO is an acronym for the Defence Research and Development Organization.
• It is India’s largest research organization. It was founded in 1958.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
• It is an agency under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
• It is charged with the military’s research and development.
• It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.
• The Minister currently responsible for DRDO is Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence.
• The present Chairman of DRDO is Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy.

About HAL:

• It refers to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
• HAL is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company and  is governed under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence.
• It is headquartered in Bangaluru, India.
• The founder of HAL is Walchand Hirachand.
• It was founded on 23 December 1940.
• The current Chairman and Managing Director is R Madhavan.

Environment

IQ Air’s Report on Global Air: Q Air is a Swiss air quality technology company specializing in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.

Main Points:

According to a report from IQ Air:

• Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world. However, India, on the whole, has improved its average annual PM2.5 (particulate matter) levels in 2020 than in 2019.
• India is the third most polluted country in 2020, unlike in 2019, when its air was the fifth most noxious.
• Pakistan and Bangladesh were the countries in 2020 with worse average PM2.5 levels than India.
• China ranked 11th in the latest report, a deterioration from the 14th in the previous edition of the report.
• When ranked by cities, Hotan in China was the most polluted, with an average concentration of 110.2 μg/m³, followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh at 106.
• Of the 15 most polluted cities, 13 were in India.

2020 Report:

• In the 2020 report, 106 countries were evaluated.

Note: The pollution levels are weighted averages, meaning that the population of a country influences the pollution values reported.

• However, of the 106 monitored countries, only 24 met the World Health Organization annual guidelines for PM 2.5.
• In 2020, 84% of all monitored countries observed air quality improvements.
• Other improvements in major cities over 2019 included a 11% drop in Beijing, a 13% drop in Chicago, a 17% drop in Paris and a 16% drop in London and Seoul.

Note: Air pollution constitutes the world’s biggest environmental health hazard, contributing to as many as 7 million premature deaths globally per year (more than three times higher than deaths associated with COVID-19).

World’s 1st Climate Change Law for Financial Firms: New Zealand has become the first country to introduce a law that will require banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business.

Aim:

The aim is to bring the financial sector on board with the efforts being made towards achieving the country’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Background:

The New Zealand government first revealed its plans to compel the financial sector to make disclosures in September last year, informing that those unable to disclose would have to give explanations.

About New Zealand:

• New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
• It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island —and more than 700 smaller islands.
• The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions.
• Owing to their remoteness, the islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable lands to be settled by humans.
• New Zealand's capital city is Wellington.
• The currency used here is New Zealander; Kiwi (informal).
• The current Prime Minister of New Zealand is Jacinda Ardern.

Earth Day: Earth Day is an international annual event celebrated on April 22.

• The day is celebrated to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Earth Day 2021:

• The year 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations.
• This year, seven major climate-related events are taking place in parallel on April 22, including the Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the United States, and the Exponential Climate action Summit on Financing the Race to Zero emissions.

Theme for 2021:

• This year’s theme for Earth Day is ‘Restore Our Earth’.
• This year’s theme focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.

History:

• Earth Day was first observed in 1970, when 20 million took to the streets to protest against environmental degradation. The event was triggered by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, as well as other issues such as smog and polluted rivers.
• The landmark Paris Agreement, which brings almost 200 countries together in setting a common target to reduce global greenhouse emissions, was signed on Earth Day 2016.
• In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.

Observance of Earth Day in April:

• April 22 has become an important date as this is spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. In the USA; “spring break” is observed so schools are closed.
• The first Earth Day celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly 10,000 primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States.
• According to the United Nations, International Mother Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance.
• This Day also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.
• This day provides an opportunity to raise public awareness around the world to the challenges regarding the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports.

Indian Policy

Draft Rules for Road-Trains Issued: The ministry of road transport and highways has issued draft standards for road-trains which it said would help bring down the cost of logistics in the country.

Highlights:

• To revolutionize the transport of goods and reduce the overall logistic costs, the Automotive Industry Standards Committee has amended its AIS-113 Standard to include the safety requirements of Road-Trains and has hosted the draft on Ministry of Road Transport & Highway’s website.
• The amended standard AIS-113 (Code of Practice for Type Approval of Trailers / Semi-trailers of categories T2, T3 and T4 being towed by Motor Vehicles of categories N2 and N3) has been published for invitation of public comments, after which it shall be notified in due course.
• The standards have been prepared after examining European benchmarks, keeping in mind Indian operating conditions.
• These standards shall pave the way for a breakthrough intervention for fast and efficient movement of goods along the long-distance freight corridors.

What is a Road-Train?

• Road-Train is a motor vehicle wherein the traction is provided by the puller, which is connected to a serial combination of trailers or semi- trailers.
• These shall ply on select stretches to reduce congestion, save fuel and reduce noise & air-pollution.
• The automotive industry standards committee has representatives from the relevant ministries, testing agencies, industry stakeholders, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), among others.

SWAMITVA Scheme: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme.

SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas.

The scheme was launched on 24th April 2021 on National Panchayati Raj Day.

Key Points of the scheme:

1. Around 09 lakh property owners will be given their e-property cards on this occasion, which will also mark the rolling out of the SVAMITVA scheme for implementation across the country.
2. SVAMITVA was launched by Prime Minister on 24th April 2020 as a Central Sector Scheme to promote a socio-economically empowered and self-reliant rural India.
3. The Scheme has the potential to transform rural India using modern technical tools of mapping and surveying.
4. It paves the way for using the property as a financial asset by villagers for availing loans and other financial benefits.
5. The Scheme will cover around 6.62 Lakh villages of the entire country during 2021-2025.
6. The pilot phase of the Scheme was implemented during 2020–2021 in the States of Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and select villages of Punjab and Rajasthan.

Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL): The Union Cabinet chaired by Shri Narendra Modi recently gave its approval for the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for the formulation of exclusive subsidy policy for Urea produced through coal gasification route by Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL).

1. Considering the strategic energy security and urea self-sufficiency of the country, looking into the country's vast coal reserves, it has been decided go ahead with TFL plant based on coal gasification technology.

Objectives:

1. The project will give a boost to the 'Make in India' initiative and AtmaNirbhar' campaign and would help the development of infrastructure like roads, railways water, etc.
2. The project will also provide new business opportunity in form of ancillary industries in the catchment area of the project.
3. The project shall improve availability of fertilizer to farmers thereby boosting development of eastern region and will save transport subsidy for supply of urea in eastern part of the country.
4. It would assist in reducing Urea imports to the tune of 12.7 LMT per annum leading to savings in foreign exchange.

About TFL:

1. Talcher Fertilizers Ltd. (TFL) is a Joint Venture Company of four PSUs namely Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF), GAIL (India) Ltd. (GAIL), Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) which was incorporated on 13th November, 2015.
2. TFL is reviving the erstwhile Talcher plant of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) by setting up a now greenfield Urea Plant with the installed capacity of 12.7 Lakh Metric Ton per annum (LMTPA).
3. The estimated project cost of the TFL Urea project is 13277.21 Crore (+/-10%).

Drugs and Cosmetics Act: New Regulatory Regime: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently notified eight items to be regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

1. According to the ministry, this had come into effect on April 1, 2021 under the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 that was enacted in 2017.

What are the new eight medical items?

The new eight medical items that has come under the regulation of Drugs and Cosmetics Act are as follows:

1. Bone Marrow Cell Separator
2. X-Ray machine
3. Dialysis machine
4. PET Equipment
5. Defibrillators
6. MRI Equipment
7. CT Scan Equipment
8. All Implantable Medical Devices

About the new regulations:

1. According to the new order, the manufacturers and importers are required to take manufacturing license from Central Licensing Authority or State Licensing Authority.

Earlier Developments:

1. In 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced that the medical equipment will be qualified as “Drugs” under Section 3 of Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940:

1. It regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in the country.
2. The main objective of the act is to make sure that the drugs and cosmetics sold in the country are safe.

Drugs Technical Advisory Board:

1. The Drugs Technical Advisory Board is the highest decision-making body in matters related to the technical details of the drugs.
2. The board was constituted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Importance of bringing more medical devices under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act:

1. The import of medical devices in India is more than 75% of the total medical device sale in the country.
2. So, by bringing more medical devices under the regulations of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the Indian companies shall raise their products to International standards.
3. It will increase the accountability of the manufacturers and the importers.
4. It will provide an assurance of safety to the customers.

Indian polity

Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021: The President of India Sri Ram Nath Kovind has recently promulgated the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021.

The ordinance was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Key Points:

• The Ordinance dissolves existing appellate authorities under nine acts and transfers their functions to high courts.
• The ordinance dissolved appellate tribunals under nine acts as follows:

1. Cinematograph Act, 1952
2. Copyrights Act, 1957
3. Trade Marks Act, 1999
4. Customs Act, 1962
5. Airports Authority of India Act, 1994
6. Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
7. Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002
8. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001
9. Patents Act, 1970

Section 184 of Finance Act, 2017

• In addition, the ordinance also amends section 184 of the Finance Act 2017.
• It has added the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission within the purview of Finance Act, 2017.
• It has removed the following bodies from the purview of Finance Act, 2017:

1. Airport Appellate Tribunal established under the Airports Authority of India act, 1994
2. The Film Certification Appellate Authority established under the Cinematograph Act, 1952
3. The Authority of Advanced Ruling established under the Income Tax Act, 1961
4. The Appellate Board established under the Trade Marks Act, 1999,

• Section 184 of the Finance Act 2017 has been amended to empower the Central Government to make rules for qualifications, appointment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other terms and conditions of service of Members of Tribunals.
• The ordinance also states that the chairperson and members of tribunals will be appointed by the Central Government based on the recommendations made by a Search-cum Select Committee.
• The committee will consist of Chief Justice of India, secretaries nominated by the central governments, secretary of the ministry under which the tribunal is constituted and the outgoing chairperson or a retired CJI or a retired Supreme Court judge.

Article 123:

• The Article 123 of the Indian Constitution provides powers to president to promulgate an ordinance.

• An ordinance laid under the act has the same effect as that of an act.

 

Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana: Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana was recently sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI) on April 24, 2021.

• Justice Ramana was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• He succeeds Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde who demitted office on April 23, 2021.
• Justice Ramana will serve as the Chief Justice till 26 August 2022.

Note: The CJI is appointed by the President of India under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Indian Constitution.

About N V Ramana:

• Justice Ramana was born in an agricultural family on August 27, 1957 in Ponnavaram village in Krishna district.
• He was elevated to the Supreme Court on February 17, 2014 when he was the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.

International

Earth Day Summit: On March 22, 2021, US President Joe Biden kick started a two-day Earth Day Summit.

• Joe Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50 per cent-52 per cent from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day climate
• The summit witnessed the participation by leaders of 40 countries including big emitters like China, India and Russia.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the “Leaders’ Summit on Climate”.
• The two-day conference has been organized virtually on 22-23 April 2021, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Paris Agreement on climate change for signature.

About the summit:

• The theme of the summit: Our Collective Sprint to 2030.
• The Summit is being held in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) that will take place in November 2021 in Glasglow.

Highlights of the Summit:

• The United States (US) and the other countries increased their targets of reducing the Greenhouse gas emissions.
• The US President Joe Biden unveiled a 2 trillion USD infrastructure package which included several elements of climate friendly policies, investment in electric grid, development funds for clean energy.
• During the summit, around 101 Nobel Laureates made a call to sign up a “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty”. They submitted a letter that called to phase out fossil fuels. The Buddhist leader Dalai Lama was one of the signatories of the letter.
• Other leaders too announced their commitments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the summit.

• World leaders aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a threshold scientists say can prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP): Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell AO, recently launched the Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP) grant program to help support a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by the rule of law and respect for sovereignty.

About the program

• The AUD 1.4 million (Rs 8.12 crore) grant program is a practical initiative to advance Australia and India’s shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.
• The AIIPOIP will help shape maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to support an open, inclusive, resilient, prosperous and rules-based maritime order.
• The programme is a practical initiative under the Australia-India Joint Declaration on a Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, as part of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced during the Leaders’ Virtual Summit on 4 June 2020.
• India and Australia are committed to work together bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally, and in minilateral arrangements, to support regional architecture in line with their shared values and interests.
• The AIIPOIP will help develop, with all interested partners, the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit on 4 November 2019 at Bangkok.
• This is the first phase of the four-year (2020-2024) grant program under this Partnership.

About the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)

• The IPOI was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the East Asia Summit.
• IPOI seeks to ensure security and stability of the regional maritime domain.
• IPOI is an open, non-treaty based initiative for countries to work together for cooperative and collaborative solutions to common challenges in the region.
• IPOI draws on existing regional architecture and mechanisms to focus on seven pillars:

1. Maritime Security
2. Maritime Ecology
3. Maritime Resources
4. Capacity Building and Resource Sharing
5. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
6. Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation
7. Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport

Australia is the lead partner on the maritime ecology pillar and is looking to drive scientific collaboration and share best practice across the Indo-Pacific on reducing marine pollution, with a focus on plastic waste.

World Earth Day: Earth Day is an annual event observed on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Earth Day is dedicated to the bountiful Mother Nature and with each passing year, as the world battles a climate crisis, Earth Day is gaining significance.

• The first World Earth Day was celebrated in April 22, 1970.
• The World Earth Day celebrations are organised by Earth Society Foundation. It was founded by John McConnel.

History

• In 1969, at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, Peace Activist John McConnell proposed to celebrate World Earth Day to honour the earth. It was first proposed to be celebrated on March 21, 1970, which is the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.

Paris Agreement

• On the World Earth Day, in 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by China, United States and other 120 countries.

Note: On Earth Day 2020, over 100 million people around the world observed the 50th anniversary in what is being referred to as the largest online mass mobilization in history.

World Earth Day 2021

This year, in 2021, the World Earth Day is celebrated under the following the theme: Restore our Earth

Amid the pandemic, a host of environmental issues are being prioritized. According to the earthday.org, the topics that will take centre stage at the digital event are:

1. Climate and environmental literacy
2. Climate restoration technologies
3. Equity and environmental justice
4. Citizen science
5. Reforestation efforts
6. Regenerative agriculture

1. Cleanups

World Book and Copyright Day 2021: Every year the World Book and Copyrights Day is celebrated on April 23 by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

The Day is celebrated to recognize and promote the benefit of reading books, publishing and copyright. This year will be the 25th edition of World Book Day.

World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day, or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.

World Book Day 2021: Theme

This year, to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO has created “Bookface Challenge”.

Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry -- publishers, booksellers, and libraries -- select the World Book Capital for a one-year period, through its own initiatives, the impetus of the Day’s celebrations, effective April 23 each year.

The UNESCO Prize for Children’s and Young People’s Literature in the Service of Tolerance is awarded on this day. Also, the day seeks to increase the understanding of copyright laws and other measures that protect intellectual properties.

World Book Capital

As per UNESCO, the city of Tbilisi in Georgia was selected as the World Book Capital for 2021.

History

In 1995, UNESCO decided to celebrate April 23 as World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day, and since then, the date has prominence in the history of literature.

Why was April 23rd chosen as World Book Day?

April 23 was chosen as World Book Day because this day marks the death and birth anniversary of many other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

World Book Day in different regions is celebrated as follows:

• In Spain, the World Book Day is being celebrated since 1926 on October 7 because Miguel de Cervantes was born on this day.
• In Catalonia (Spain), the World Book Day is celebrated as St George’s Day since 1436. On this day, people exchange gifts between loved ones. Catalonia is an autonomous community in Spain.
• In Sweden, the World Book Day is called the Varldsbokdagen. It is celebrated on April 13.
• In UK and Ireland, they organise an event called the “World Book Night” to celebrate the World Book Day.

• The World Book Day is celebrated as a street festival in the US.

Idriss Deby Itno: The President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno recently  passed away. Idriss Deby Itno died from wounds sustained in battle after three decades in power, the Army said, opening a period of uncertainty in a country that is a key strategic ally of the West.

About:

• He had ruled the central African nation for more than three decades and was even declared winner of the 2021 presidential election, paving the way for him to stay in power for six more years.
• Deby first won elections in 1996 and 2001. After this, he continued to win in 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021.
• He was killed in April 2021 while commanding forces fighting on the front against rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT).
• The Transitional Military Council, led by interim president Mahamat Idriss Déby, son of the late president, has assumed control of government.

About FACT:

• FACT was formed in 2016.
• A group of rebels split from the UFDD after a violent clash and formed FACT. UFDD is Union of Forces for Democracy and Development. UFDD is the largest group of Chadian rebel forces that operated against the former President Idriss Deby. The leader of UFDD is Mahamat Nouri.
• FACT is run by Mahdi Ali Mahamat. He spent some time in exile in France and returned to Libya in 2015.
• The founder of FACT is Jerome Tubiana.
• The group has been fighting to overthrow Deby from power. According to them, Deby’s victory in the elections held in 2016 and 2021 was fraudulent.
• FACT has deployed more than 400-450 vehicles into Chad that carried thousands of fighters.

About Chad

• Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa.
• It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.
• Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetland in Africa.
• The capital N'Djamena is the largest city.

• The currency used here is Central African CFA franc.

New Zealand: New Zealand has become the first country to introduce a law that will require banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business.

• Aim:
• The aim is to bring the financial sector on board with the efforts being made towards achieving the country’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
• Background:
• The New Zealand government first revealed its plans to compel the financial sector to make disclosures in September last year, informing that those unable to disclose would have to give explanations.

About New Zealand:

• New Zealand, Maori Aotearoa, is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
• It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island  and the South Island and more than 700 smaller islands.

• New Zealand's capital city is Wellington.
• New Zealand administers the South Pacific island group of Tokelau and claims a section of the Antarctic continent.
• New Zealand is famous for its national rugby team, its indigenous Maori culture and its picturesque landscape.
• The currency used here is New Zealand dollar.
• The current Prime Minster of New Zealand is Jacinda Ardern.

National

National Panchayati Raj Day: National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of Panchayati Raj System in India.

 It is celebrated annually by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on April 24 as the Panchayati Raj System of India came into effect on April 24, 1993.

This annual celebration is done in order to commemorate the historic day on which the Constitution Act (73rd Amendment) passed in 1992.

However, it came into existence a year later on April 24,1993.

Therefore, National Panchayati Raj Day is commemorated to celebrate the inception of decentralised power.

The then Prime Minister of Indian Manmohan Singh declared the first National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April 2010.

National Panchayati Raj Day 2021:

This year, more than 74,000 Panchayats are to participate in National Panchayati Raj Awards, 2021. This is 28% higher than the National Panchayati Raj Awards, 2020.

Note: There are more than 2.6 lakh Panchayats in the country.

Awards presented on this day are:

1. The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Pachayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar is awarded on National Panchayati Raj Day.
2. The Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Sabha Puraskar is awarded to Gram Sabha.
3. Child friendly Gram Panchayat award
4. E-Panchayat award

Additional Info: SVAMITVA, a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Panchayati Raj was launched by the Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April 2020. The scheme aims to provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners in rural abadi areas and issuance of Property cards.

History behind National Panchayati Raj Day:

1. In 1957, a Committee was formulated which focused on the evolution of Panchayati Raj in India. Balwantrai Mehta was appointed as the chairman of the Committee. As per the Committee's report, it recommended a decentralised three Panchayati Raj hierarchy. It includes -

1. Gram Panchayat at the Village level
2. Panchayat Samiti at the Block level
3. Zila Parishad at the District level

1. Names of representatives of the Panchayats were decided to be Pradhan, Mukhiya or Sarpanch. In 1959, Rajasthan became the first state wherein the Panchayat Raj System was executed. Inauguration of the Panchayati Raj was done in the month of October 1959 in Nagpur by our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru.

1. The Panchayati Raj Act came into effect on April 24, 1993.
2. It was introduced through the 73rd Constitutional amendment.
3. The establishment of Panchayati Raj System in the country was recommended by Balwant Rai Committee.

What are the main features of the Features of 74th Amendment Act?

1. Every state shall constitute a Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Corporation and Municipal Council.
2. All the seats in the municipality shall be filled by persons chosen from direct elections.
3. A ward Committee shall be constituted.
4. The seats in the local bodies shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
5. Establishment of Independent Election Commission in each state.

1. Establishment of Financial Commission in each state. 

INDIAN SARS-COV-2 GENOMIC CONSORTIUM (INSACOG): For improving the understanding of the nuances of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and its public health relevance in the context of the current pandemic, the Department of Biotechnology recently conducted a public webinar on the “Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-19".

Highlights:

• The webinar aimed at demystifying the science behind mutations in the viral genome, viral genome sequencing, and public health implications of the mutations in the viral genome.
• A panel of experts from various reputed institutes & organizations discussed different aspects of genome sequencing and highlighted the importance of sequencing the Genome of SARS-CoV-19, and the work done by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium in ascertaining the presence of variants of SARS-CoV-2, establishing sentinel surveillance for early detection, and determining the genomic variants in the unusual events/trends.

About INDIAN SARS-COV-2 GENOMIC CONSORTIUM (INSACOG)

• In the backdrop of reports of emergence of variants of the SARS-CoV-2, in the world, the Government of India had established a national multi-agency consortium, Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) in December 2020.
• It consists of ten laboratories of the Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHF&W) with the overall aim of monitoring the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis.
• Its overall aim is monitoring the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis.

 

• The responsibility to correlate the clinical aspects and coordinate the collection of samples from states, for this purpose, was provided to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), MoHFW.

• INSACOG has a data repository at IGIB, New Delhi and NIBMG, Kalyani.

 

UN ECOSOC: India has been elected to three key bodies of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC).

They are as follows:

1. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ).
2. The Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.
3. The Executive Board of World Food Programme.

Key Points:

All these three bodies operate under United Nations Economic and Social Council.

India was elected to all these three bodies by acclamation. Acclamation is honouring someone.

Electing a member country through acclamation does not use a ballot. However, other member countries were elected through secret ballot to these bodies.

India’s term to these bodies begins on January 1, 2022.

What is Election by Acclamation in the United Nations?

• When a member with clean slate is presented for an election in the United Nations, the vote takes place through acclamation.
• Clean Slate means there is no history of evidence of any problems or broken rules.
• The Secret ballot shall be dispensed when election by acclamation takes place in the United Nations.
• Election by Acclamation is not allowed in all UN bodies.
• Election by Acclamation is completely excluded in some of the UN bodies such as the Human Rights Council.

About CCPCJ

• CCPCJ, based in Vienna, acts as the principal policy-making body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. The CCPCJ has 40 member states that are elected by ECOSOC and is chaired by a Bureau, including one member per Regional Group.
• The other countries that were elected to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice through secret ballot were Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Brazil. Countries such as Austria, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Belarus, France, Canada, Libya, Ghana, Qatar, Pakistan, Togo and Thailand were elected by acclamation.

About the Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women:

• UN Women is about gender issues. Executive Board of UN Women consists of 41 members, 10 from the African states, 10 from the Asian states, 4 from the Eastern European states, 6 from Latin American and the Caribbean states, 5 from Western Europe and the other states, and 6 from top contributing countries.
• Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri has been in the past Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.
• The countries that were elected to this board through acclamation were Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Thailand, South Africa, Poland, Monaco, Kenya, Guyana, Gambia, Egypt, Colombia, Camroon, Bangladesh, Australia, Dominican Republic and Afghanistan.

About the Executive Board of World Food Programme: 

• The Executive Board is World Food Program or WFP's supreme governing body. Comprising 36 states members of the United Nations or Member Nations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the board provides intergovernmental support, policy direction and supervision of the activities of WFP.

National Civil Service Day: Civil Service Day is celebrated on April 21st every year to rededicate and to recommit themselves to the cause of the people.

• On this day Civil servants from various parts of the country come together, share their experiences and also learn other's experiences of working in the public sector.

History of Civil Services Day:

• Government of India (GoI) chose April 21 as the National Civil Service Day because on this day the country’s Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the newly appointed Administrative Services Officers at Metcalf House, Delhi in the year 1947.
• In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’.
• Sardar Patel also laid out the golden rules and principles of good governance for the civil servants in his address.
• The first such function was held in Vigyan  Bhawan, New Delhi  on 21 April 2006.

About Civil Service:

• Civil Service is the service that is responsible for the public administration of the government of the country.
• It does not include legislative, judiciary, and military personnel.
• The civil service members do not take any pledge to any political ruling party but are the executioners of the policies of the ruling political party.
• Civil Service word dates back to the British time when British East India Company civilian staffs involved in administrative jobs and were known as 'Public Servants'.
• The foundation for civil services was laid by Warren Hastings and later more reforms were done by Charles Cornwallis and so he was known as the "Father of Civil Services in India".
• Civil Service in India consists of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and a comprehensive list of All India Services and Central Services Group A and Group B.

Objectives of the National Civil Service Day:

• The main objectives of National Civil Service day are as follows:
• To motivate and appreciate the work and efforts of Civil Service officers.
• On 21st April, the IAS, IPS, IFS, IFoS, and many more designated officers of Civil Services these reunite and discuss certain agendas for the future.
• The agendas are directly formed for serving the nation.
• Moreover, these officers put behind all the past experiences and put forth the guidelines for the year to follow.
• Central Government uses this opportunity to evaluate the work of various departments under the civil services and felicitate and distribute awards to the best working individuals and groups.
• On National Civil Services day, 'Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration' is awarded in three caegories. A large number of districts across the country participate in this award program.
• The felicitation function is organized by the Department of the Administrative Reforms and Public grievances (DARPG) and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Note: Every year, UPSC conducts the Civil Services Exam to recruit Civil Servants.

People In News

Rumana Sinha Sehgal: Rumana Sinha Sehgal is a Software engineer turned entrepreneur from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

• She has recently won the Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021 by the Diplomatic Mission Global Peace.
• She was virtually awarded for her contribution to the field of developing innovative and functional green products by recycling varied materials and non-biodegradable materials.

Other Awards:

• Nationwide Award -under 50- Business Leader 2021 of Social entrepreneurship.
• International Influencer of the year 2021’ at the Influencer Summit in January 2021.
• ReXKarmaveer Chakra (silver) and Global Fellowship award 2019 for her work in the zone of women and child empowerment.

• She was crowned as the ‘Mrs Universe Successful 2018’.

Roberto Benigni: Oscar-winning Italian director-actor Roberto Benigni of “Life is Beautiful” fame has been honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 78th Venice International Film Festival.

Highlights:

• The filmmaker had starred in and directed the holocaust comedy-drama film Life Is Beautiful (1997), for which he received the Academy Awards for Best Actor (the first for a non-English speaking male performance) and Best International Feature Film.
• The decision to honour Benigni, a two-time Oscar winner was made by the board of La Biennale di Venezia.
• The writer-director-actor’s name was proposed by the Festival’s Director, Alberto Barbera.

Note: Venice Film Festival runs from 1 to 11 September.

• The director is best known for his Holocaust drama Life is Beautiful. The 1997 film fetched him the best actor and best international film Oscars.
• Benigni most recently starred in Matteo Garrone's live-action Pinocchio.

• His other films are Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes and To Rome with Love.

Bob Balaram: He is an Indian-origin engineer. He is the man behind Mars Ingenuity helicopter.

• He has worked with Nasa for 20 years.
• On 19 April, NASA made history by becoming the first space agency to fly an aircraft on another planet.
• Its Ingenuity helicopter took an almost 40-second flight, rising three metres up in the air in the Jezero Crater on Mars.
• NASA has called the event its Wright brothers moment, as the siblings flew the world's first plane in 1903.
• Ingenuity also carried with it a postage-sized piece of fabric from their aircraft, known as the Flyer, and it was attached to a cable under the solar panel.
• Ingenuity Mars helicopter is the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft over the surface of another planet.

About Balaram:

• The historic achievement is not just a proud moment for Nasa but also for Indians too as the chief engineer of Ingenuity is an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras) alumni.
• As a kid growing up in southern India in the 1960s, Balaram was fascinated by rockets and cosmic beauty.
• Bob Balram completed his mechanical engineering from 1975-1980.
• He went on to complete his MS and PhD from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, America's oldest technological research university.
• Associated with NASA for 20 years, he has worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a chief Engineer for Mars Helicopter Scout Project.
• He has also worked on advanced simulation techniques for planetary entry, descent, and landing.
• The Apollo Moon landing mission had developed his interest in space and science.

Places In News

UP Government: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order to impose lockdown in five cities – Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur.

Main Points:

The United States on Monday advised its citizens to avoid travelling to India citing a “very high level of Covid-19” in the country. The United Kingdom too, has put India on its travel “red list”.

India on Tuesday recorded 2,59,170 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections since the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020 to 1,53,21,089. With 1,761 deaths, the toll rose to 1,80,530.

The country has recorded over 2 lakh infections for the sixth consecutive day.

The Centre announced that everyone above 18 years of age can be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the third phase of India’s inoculation programme, starting from May 1.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 14.18 crore people and killed over 30.27 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 8.11 crore people have recovered from the infection.

About Uttar Pradesh:

• Uttar Pradesh is a state in northern India.
• It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh during British rule, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
• Its Capital city is Lucknow.
• The Chief Minister and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh are Yogi Adityanath and Anandiben Patel respectively.

Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme: The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently released the first tranche of Rs 672 crores under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for the year 2021-22.

Under Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme the fees for 10.88 lakh studentshas been reimbursed.

So far, a total of Rs 4, 879 crores has been disbursed under this scheme.

What are the objectives of the scheme?

The main objectives of the scheme are as follows:

• To provide scholarships to all the students who are not able to pay their fees because of their financial burden.
• To focus mainly on students seeking higher education.
• To provide fee reimbursement to more than 14 lakh students of the state.
• It will directly credit the amount into the accounts of students’ mothers.

Earlier, the money was transferred to the owners of the colleges.

The second installment of the scheme is to be released in July 2021 and the third installment is to be released in December 2021.

Education Policy of Andhra Pradesh (AP):

• Andhra Pradesh is using two-pronged strategy to improve education in the state.
• One is by providing financial assistance to mothers of the students.
• Second, the AP Government is introducing English as a medium of instruction in government schools.

About Andhra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh is situated in the south-eastern part of India.
• It came into existence in its present form in 1956 as a result of the demand of the Andhras for a separate state.
• Capitals are Visakhapatnam (executive capital), Kurnool (judicial capital, Amaravati (legislative capital.)
• The current Governor and the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh is Biswabhusan Harichandan and Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy respectively.

Har Ghar Jal: Punjab State has recently reiterated its commitment to achieve the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ target by 2022 as planned.

Highlights:

• Punjab has 34.73 lakh rural household, out of which 25.88 lakh (74.5%) have tap water supply.
• In 2021-22, the State plans to provide 8.87 lakh tap connections, thereby providing tap connection to every rural household.
• So far, 4-districts, 29 blocks, 5,715 panchayats and 6,003 villages in Punjab have been declared ‘Har Ghar Jal’, which means every rural household has access to water through the tap.

About:

• To ensure transparency and accountability, Punjab has set up a well-equipped digital 24×7 call centre with Interactive Voice Responsive System.
• This analog grievance redressal system was upgraded in December 2020.
• In 2020, the redressal rate was 97.76%.
• The pending complaints daily monitoring is done by sending reminders to the Executive Engineer via SMS, What’s App messages, e-mail and over the phone.

About Punjab:

• Punjab is a state in northern India.
• It is bounded by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west.
• Punjab in its present form came into existence on 1 November 1966.
• The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
• Punjab means "The Land of Five Waters", which are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas.
• The current Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab are Captain Amarinder Singh and V.P.Singh Badnore respectively.

Science and Technology

Space Station Crew-2 Mission With Four Astronauts Launched: Four astronauts were recently launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida as part of collaboration between NASA and SpaceX under the Commercial Crew Program.

Key Points:

• The mission is called Crew-2 and is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
• Out of the four astronauts, two are from NASA and two are from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
• Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur from NASA will serve as the mission’s spacecraft commander and pilot, while Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet will serve as mission specialists to the space station for a six-month science mission.

Background:

• Earlier, in May 2020, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight lifted off for the ISS carrying astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.
• The aim of this test flight was to see if SpaceX capsules could be used on a regular basis to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
• Demo-2 was followed by the Crew-1 mission in November, which was the first of six crewed missions between NASA and SpaceX marking the beginning of a new era for space travel.

Crew-2 mission:

• Now, Crew-2 astronauts will join the members of Expedition 65. They will stay aboard the ISS for six months during which time they will conduct science experiments in low-Earth orbit.
• Their central focus during this time will be to continue a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.

What are Tissue Chips?

• Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body. According to NASA, these chips can potentially speed up the process of identifying safe and effective drugs and vaccines.

About Commercial Crew Program:

• Development of the Commercial Crew Program began in the second round of the Commercial Crew Development program, which was rescoped from a technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used in the Commercial Crew Program.
• The main goal of this program is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
• Through this program, NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX, and also give the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
• Secondly, by encouraging private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX to provide crew transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, NASA can focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.

Unicorn: Scientists have discovered what may be the smallest-known black hole in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest to our solar system.

Key Points:

1. The researchers have nicknamed it Unicorn.
2. They said that the black hole is roughly three times the mass of our sun, testing the lower limits of size for these extraordinarily dense objects that possess gravitational pulls so strong not even light can escape.
3. A luminous star called a red giant orbits with the black hole in a so-called binary star system named V723 Mon.
4. The black hole is located about 1,500 light years - the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km) - from Earth. While it may be the closest one to us, it is still far away. By way of comparison, the closest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, is 4 light years away.
5. Black holes like this one form when massive stars die and their cores collapse.
6. The study is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
7. The astronomers have named it Unicorn because V723 Mon is in the Monoceros constellation, which translates to unicorn, and partly because it is a very unique system" in terms of the black hole's mass and relative closeness to Earth.

What is a black hole?

A black hole is a place in space where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole.

There are three categories of black holes.

1. The smallest, like 'the Unicorn,' are so-called stellar-mass black holes formed by the gravitational collapse of a single star.
2. There are gargantuan 'supermassive' black holes like the one at our galaxy's center, 26,000 light-years from Earth, which is four million times the sun's mass.

1. A few intermediate-mass black holes also have been found with masses somewhere in between.

MOXIE: The Perseverance rover of Mars 2020 Mission of NASA recently converted carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Highlights:

• This is for the first time that this has been achieved in another planet.
• This was achieved by MOXIE, an instrument placed in the front side of the rover.

About MOXIE:

• The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment is better known as MOXIE.
• MOXIE was designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• It is also called “Mechanical Tree” because, it uses electricity and chemistry to split carbon molecules into carbon and oxygen. In due process, it produces carbon monoxide as a byproduct.
• It is capable of generating ten grams of oxygen in one hour.
• It produced five grams of oxygen in its first run. It is equal to ten minutes of breathable oxygen for an astronaut performing a normal activity.
• It was built with nickel-alloy. The alloy is heat-resistant and is designated to tolerate temperatures of 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit.
• It was covered with gold coating so that the heat radiated does not harm the rover.
• According to the scientists at MIT, one ton version of MOXIE is capable of producing twenty-five tonnes of oxygen.

Note: Earlier missions have proved the presence of ice in Mars.

Scientists believe that extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, that is rich in carbon dioxide is more feasible than extracting oxygen from ice that is present in its under surface.

Perseverance:

Perseverance carrying the Ingenuity helicopter landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. The helicopter recently made its successful flight. This was first flight in another planet.

Mars Mission- Ingenuity: Recently, NASA successfully flew its tiny experimental helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, the first powered flight on another planet and a feat a top engineer called "our Wright brothers' moment."

Data and images from the autonomous flight were transmitted 173 million miles (278 million kilometres) back to Earth where they were received by NASA’s array of ground antennas and processed more than three hours later.

About Ingenuity

• More than six years in the making, Ingenuity is just 19 inches (49 centimeters) tall, a spindly four-legged chopper.
• Its fuselage, containing all the batteries, heaters and sensors, is the size of a tissue box.
• The carbon-fiber, foam-filled rotors are the biggest pieces: Each pair stretches 4 feet (1.2 meters) tip to tip.
• Ingenuity also had to be sturdy enough to withstand the Martian wind, and is topped with a solar panel for recharging the batteries, crucial for surviving the minus-130 degree Fahrenheit (minus-90 degree-Celsius) Martian nights.
• Ingenuity was on autopilot for its entire flight, out of sight, direct control, or contact with the men and women on Earth who had ordered it aloft—because radio signals take too long to travel between the planets for any human operator to intervene.
• The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

About NASA

 

• NASA is an acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• NASA is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
• NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
• It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.
• The acting administrator of NASA is Steve Jurczyk.

About Mars

• Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.

About Mars:

• Mars is sometimes called the Red Planet. It's red because of rusty iron in the ground. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather.
• It has a very thin atmosphere made of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon.
• Mars is named for the ancient Roman god of war. The Greeks called the planet Ares (pronounced Air-EEZ). The Romans and Greeks associated the planet with war because its color resembles the color of blood.

• Mars has two small moons.

Sports

AIBA 2021 Youth Boxing Championship: Indian Women recently created history at the AIBA 2021 Youth World Boxing Championship.

Highlights:

• A total of eight Indians entered the finals. Of this, seven were women. All the women finalists finished on top.
• All the women finalists registered victories and finished top. They were as follows:

1. Gitika – 48 kg
2. Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu 51 kg
3. Poonam 57 kg
4. Vinka 60 kg
5. Arundhati Choudhary 69 kg
6. T Sanamacha Chanu 75 kg
7. Alfiya Pathan 81 kg

• In 2017, Indian Women won five gold medals. The 2017 Youth World Championship was held in Guwahati.
• This year, India won 7 gold at the AIBA Youth Women World Boxing Championships. The sixth gold was added by Sanamacha. Sanamacha trains at boxing MC Mary Kom’s Academy in Imphal. She outperformed Kazakhstan’s Dana Diday in 75 kg final.
• Alfiya of Laharashtra clinched the seventh gold for India. She defeated a strong contender Daria Kozorez of Moldova.
• Gitika of Haryana won gold in 48 kg. She defeated a two-time European champion, Erika Prisciandaro. Erika is from Italy. In the finals, Gitika defeated Natalia Kuczewska.
• Poonam and Babyrojisana added two more gold medals. Poonam won Sthelyne Grosy in the finals and Babyrojisana won Valeriia Linkova in the finals.
• Arundhati from Rajasthan won gold in 69 kg. She beat the Polish boxer, Barbara Marcinkowska.

Men’s Section

• Ankit Narwal won bronze in 64 kg. Similarly, Bishwamitra Chongthom and Vishal Gupta won bronze medal in 49 kg and 91 kg respectively.

AIBA

• AIBA is International World Boxing Championships.
• It organizes AIBA Women World Boxing Championship and AIBA World Boxing Championships biennially.

ATP Masters 1000 series: Stefanos Tsitsipas recently won his first ATP Masters 1000 series after a flawless performance against Andrey Rublev in Monte Carlo.

• The Greek star had lost his previous two finals at this level, with Rafael Nadal denying him in Toronto and Novak Djokovic beating him in Madrid.
• Rublev knocked out Roberto Bautista Agut, Rafael Nadal and Dan Evans en route to the final but could not find a way past Tsitsipas.
• About Monte Carlo Masters
• Monte Carlo Masters is a tennis tournament for male professional players and part of Masters 1000 event on the ATP Tour.

Priyanka Mohite: Priyanka Mohite from Satara in western Maharashtra has scaled Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain peak in the world, becoming the first Indian woman climber to achieve the feat.

• Mount Annapurna is a massif in the Himalayas located in Nepal that includes one peak over 8,000 metres and is considered to be one of the toughest mountains to climb.

Arjun Kalyan: Tamil Nadu’s, Arjun Kalyan became India’s 68th Chess Grandmaster. The 18-year-old from Chennai crossed the 2500 ELO mark after beating Dragan Kosic in the fifth round of GM Round Robin “Rujna Zore-3” in Serbia.

• Arjun is coached by IM Saravanan and Ukrainian GM Aleksandr Goloshchapov and began playing chess at the age of nine and got his FIDE rating a year later.

• Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first Grandmaster, in 1988.

Mirabai Chanu: India's Mirabai Chanu recently set a new World Record in the women’s 49kg Clean and Jerk with a massive 119 kg lift at Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent.

• The 26-year-old Indian won the bronze medal at the event.
• The gold medal went to Hou Zhihui of China who created a new world record in snatch.
• Asian Games, held once every 4yrs, is the 2nd largest multi-sport event after Olympics.

Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix 2021: Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) recently won the Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix 2021, in Imola, Italy.

• This win is his first victory of the season. The race was the second round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.
• The seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) finished second, following a crash and sustaining damage involving Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
• Lando Norris (McLaren – Great Britain) took third place.

2021 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship: India recently won 14 medals to stand in the third spot on the medal table at the 2021 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships.

• The medals include 5 Gold, 3 Silver & 6 Bronze Medals. Iran and Kazakhstan topped the medal tally with 17 medals each.
• The 2021 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships was held from April 13 to 18, 2021 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
• The event was the 34th edition of the Asian Wrestling Championships.
• The medal winners from India are as follows:

Gold Medal:

1. Ravi Kumar Dahiya – 57 kg Men’s freestyle
2. Vinesh Phogat – 53 kg Women’s freestyle
3. Anshu Malik – 57 kg Women’s freestyle
4. Sarita Mor – 59 kg Women’s freestyle
5. Divya Kakran – 72 kg Women’s freestyle

Silver Medal:

1. Bajrang Punia – 65 kg Men’s freestyle
2. Deepak Punia – 86 kg Men’s freestyle
3. Sakshi Malik – 65 kg Women’s freestyle

Bronze Medal:

1. Karan Mor – 70 kg Men’s freestyle
2. Narsingh Yadav – 79 kg Men’s freestyle
3. Sanjeet – 92 kg Men’s freestyle
4. Satyawart Kadian – 97 kg Men’s freestyle
5. Seema Bisla – 50 kg Women’s freestyle
6. Pooja Sihag – 76 kg Women’s freestyle

Arts

Maharana Udai Singh II: 4th of August is the birth anniversary of Maharana Udai Singh II who was the Maharana of Mewar and the founder of the city of Udaipur in the present-day Rajasthan state of India.

About:

• Udai Singh II was born on 4 August 1522 in Chittor.

• He was the fourth son of Maharana Sangram Singh (Rana Sangha) and Rani Karnavati (Princess of Bundi).

• After Rana Sanga’s death, his enemies tried to kill Udai Singh II who was only a child at that time.

• He was rescued by his nurse Panna Dhai who replaced him with her own son and sacrificed his life for the safety of the young prince.

• He was crowned in Kumbhalgarh by the nobles of Mewar.

• He was 12th ruler of the Mewar dynasty.

• Later when he ascended the throne, he was attacked by Akbar.

• At this time, he had already left Chittor 9 years ago, ending up in Udaipur, giving Mewar its new capital.

• Although after the weakening of the Mughals, the Rajput kings recaptured most of Mewar but failed to win over Chittor.

• Thus Udaipur which had been safer from the Mughal influence because of its mountainous terrain remained the capital of Mewar till it became a part of Union of India 1948.

• He died on 28 February 1572 in Gogunda.

• Before his death, Jagmal tried to seize the throne but the nobles of Mewar prevented Jagmal from succeeding and placed Maharana Pratap Singh on the throne on 1 March 1572 who marked the Rajputana history with his heroism and courage, making his father’s presence in history significant and imperative.

About Udaipur:

• Udaipur, formerly the capital of the Mewar Kingdom, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

• It was founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559.

• Often referred to as the 'Venice of the East', the city of lakes Udaipur is located around azure water lakes and is hemmed in by lush green hills of Aravallis which separates it from the Thar Desert.

• It is home to Jaisamand Lake, claimed to be the second largest man-made sweet water lake in Asia.

• The city is also known for its profusion of zinc and marble.

• Solar observatory in Lake Fateh Sagar is the only observatory in India located on an island and has been made on the pattern of Big Bear Lake in Southern California.

• Dubbed "the most romantic spot on the continent of India" by British administrator James Tod, Udaipur is a tourist destination and is known for its history, culture, scenic locations and the Rajput-era palaces.

Books and Authors:

My Own Mazagon: It is a new book titled “My Own Mazagon” authored by Captain Ramesh Babu.

Highlights:

• This book has been published by Indus Source Books.

• It will be jointly released by Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad, (Retd.), and CMD Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

About the Book:

• The book features the history and story of Mazagon, the island which was merged into a single entity as Bombay.

• It rediscovers the forgotten history of Mazagon and resurrects the identity of Maza Gaon, or ‘My own Village’.

About Captain Ramesh Babu:

• Captain Ramesh Babu retired from Mumbai after serving the Indian Navy at Mazagon Dock.

• Other books authored by Capt. Babu: “After You Sir: A Collection of School Stories” and “Calicut Heritage Trails”.

Leopard Diaries – the Rosette in India: Wildlife Biologist, Sanjay Gubbi authored a book about Leopard titled ‘Leopard Diaries – the Rosette in India’.

Key Details:

• The content of this book by the author features about the food habits, ecological context, and conservation of Leopard along with the suggestions to overcome leopard–human conflict.

• The book also details Sanjay Gubbi’s practical engagement as a conflict manager, adviser to the State government, and leopard PR (Public Relations) person.

• The book was published by Westland.

About the Author:

• Sanjay Gubbi is a wildlife biologist, Scientist (Western Ghats), working on the conservation of large carnivores like tigers and leopards.

• He was awarded Whitley Award (popularly known as the Green Oscars) (2017) and the Co-Existence Award (2019) among several others, for his work.

Additional Info:

• Leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae.

• As per the government’s report, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of leopards, about 26 per cent of the total number estimated in the country.

Economics

e-RUPI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-RUPI, an electronic voucher promoting digital payment solution, through video conferencing on August 2, 2021.

 Highlights:

• e-RUPI is an e-voucher-based payment solution.

• The concept of electronic voucher aims to take forward the vision of good governance.

• The e-RUPI initiative will be one of the programmes launched over the years to limit touch points between the government and the beneficiary.

• It will ensure that the benefits reach its intended beneficiaries in a targeted and leak-proof manner.

• e-RUPI is a one-time payment mechanism that will allow users to redeem voucher without using card, digital payments app or internet banking access.

What is e-RUPI?

• e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

• It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which can be sent on the mobile of the beneficiaries.

• It is a seamless one-time payment mechanism.

Key Points about e-RUPI:

• It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

• This platform was launched to ensure a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.

Benefits of e-RUPI:

1. e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface.

2. It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed.

3. The one-time payment mechanism of e-RUPI will allow users to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider.

4. Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary, the statement said.

5. It is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.

6. It can also be used for delivering services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child welfare schemes, TB eradication programmes, drugs and diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertiliser subsidies etc.

7. Even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes,

CIP: The Central Board for Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) here today launched the Indian Customs Compliance Information Portal (CIP) at www.cip.icegate.gov.in/CIP.

Key Details:

• CIP is yet another facilitation tool developed by CBIC.

• This newly inaugurated portal has been launched for providing free access to information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliance for nearly 12,000 Customs Tariff Items.

• This tool will empower business as well as any interested person with up-to-date information on the legal and procedural requirements of Customs and Partner Government Agencies (FSSAI, AQIS, PQIS, Drug Controller etc.) for carrying out imports and exports.

• It would provide complete knowledge of all import and export related requirements for all items covered under the Customs Tariff at the click of a button, thereby, improving the ease of doing cross border trade.

• Another important feature of CIP is that it is a pan India map that shows all the Customs seaports, airports, land customs stations etc.

• It also comprises of addresses of regulatory agencies and their websites.

How CIP can be used?

• One can use the CIP by simply entering either the Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) or description of goods in question in order to get information to step-by-step procedures, regulatory compliances requirements such as License, Certificates, etc.

• This includes import and export through posts and courier, import of samples, re-import and re-export of goods, self-sealing facility for exporters and project imports.

About CBIC:

• CBIC is an acronym for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

• It is the nodal national agency responsible for administering Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics in India. It comes under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

• It was founded on 1 January 1964.

• The current Chairman of CBIC is M. Ajit Kumar.

Retrospective Tax: Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on 5th August, 2021, introduced a Bill in Parliament to nullify the provisions of Income Tax Act.

Highlights:

• This bill has put an end to contentious retrospective tax law which has hit the confidence of foreign investors like Vodafone and Cairn.

• The government has also proposed to refund the amount paid in litigation by companies without any interest thereon.

• According to Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, a total amount involved for all cases is about Rs 8,100 crore, of which about Rs 7,900 crore is related to the Cairn dispute.

Key Points about the bill:

• The Bill would withdraw the retrospective amendments to the Income Tax Act of 1961 that had raised demands on Vodafone, Cairn and some others.

• This bill sought to attract foreign investments.

• As per the bill, no tax demand would be raised in future based on the retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets, in case transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012.

Background:

The Vodafone Case:

• The Vodafone case relates dates back to the telco acquiring Indian assets of Hutchison Essar in 2007.

• The demand amounted to Rs 22,100 crore.

• The government had filed an appeal against the verdict in Singapore.

• India had also lost a case in international arbitral tribunal at The Hague last year against taxing Cairn Energy Plc and Cairn UK holdings Ltd on alleged capital gains the company made when in 2006.

• The Tribunal had asked India to pay Cairn an amount of $1232.8 million plus interest as well as $22.38 million towards arbitration and legal costs.

Losing Battle:

• India’s imposition of a tax liability on Vodafone breached an investment treaty between India and the Netherlands, ruled an international arbitration tribunal in 2020.

• Cairn was awarded damages of more than $1.2 billion in December by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in retro tax case.

• A French tribunal last month ordered a freeze on some 20 properties belonging to Indian government as part of a guarantee of the amount owed to Cairn.

What is Retrospective Taxation?

• In terms of taxation, retrospective tax means giving effect to the amendment in the present law before the date on which the changes were brought in.

• It taxes a transaction that took place prior to the law being framed.

• Retrospective Taxation allows any country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items or services. It charges companies from time behind the date on which any law is passed.

• This route is used by countries to correct any anomalies in their taxation policies.

• Countries like USA, UK, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia and have retrospectively taxed companies.

Anti-Dumping Duty on VSF: The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recently recommended the withdrawal of anti-dumping duty on Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) originating in or exported from Indonesia or China and is imported by India.

Note: In the last three years, India initiated more than 130 anti-dumping/countervailing duty/safeguard cases to deal with the rising incidences of unfair trade practices and to provide a level playing field to the domestic industry,

What is dumping?

• Dumping occurs when a country or company exports a product at a price that is lower in the foreign importing market than the price in the exporter's domestic market.

• The biggest advantage of dumping is the ability to flood a market with product prices that are often considered unfair.

• Dumping is legal under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules unless the foreign country can reliably show the negative effects the exporting firm has caused its domestic producers.

• Countries use tariffs and quotas to protect their domestic producers from dumping.

Advantages of Dumping:

• The primary advantage of trade dumping is the ability to permeate a market with product prices that are often considered unfair.

• The exporting country may offer the producer a subsidy to counterbalance the losses incurred when the products sell below their manufacturing cost.

Disadvantages of Dumping:

• One of the biggest disadvantages of trade dumping is that subsidies can become too costly over time to be sustainable.

• Additionally, trade partners who wish to restrict this form of market activity may increase restrictions on the good, which could result in increased export costs to the affected country or limits on the quantity a country will import.

What is Anti-Dumping Duty?

• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

• In order to protect their respective economy, many countries impose duties on products they believe are being dumped in their national market.

• This is done with the rationale that these products have the potential to undercut local businesses and the local economy.

• According to global trade norms, including WTO, a country is allowed to impose anti-dumping duty to provide a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers.

• While the intention of anti-dumping duties is to save domestic jobs, these tariffs can also lead to higher prices for domestic consumers.

• In the long-term, anti-dumping duties can reduce the international competition of domestic companies producing similar goods.

Anti dumping duty in India:

• In India, the Anti dumping duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as DGTR (Ministry of Commerce & industry).

About DGTR:

• The full form of DGTR is Directorate General of Trade Remedies.

• The DGTR was incorporated by the Government of India (GoI) to ensure that the domestic industries are not affected by Unfair Trade Practices.

• It was established in 1998 as the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD).

• It was renamed in 2018 as the Directorate General of Trade Remedies.

• It is a professionally integrated organization with multi-spectrum skill sets emanating from officers drawn from different services and specializations.

• It functions as an attached office of Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Functions:

• Earlier, the DGAD dealt with anti-dumping and CVD cases, Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) dealt with safeguard measures and DGFT dealt with quantitative restriction (QR) safeguards.

• Now,the DGTR brings DGAD, DGS and Safeguards (QR) functions of DGFT into its fold by merging them into one single national entity.

• It also deals with Anti-dumping, CVD and Safeguard measures.

• It also provides trade defence support to our domestic industry and exporters in dealing with increasing instances of trade remedy investigations instituted against them by other countries.

• It provides a level playing field to the domestic industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices like dumping and actionable subsidies from any exporting country, by using Trade Remedial methods under relevant framework of WTO arrangements, Customs Tariff Act & Rules and other relevant laws and International agreements, in a transparent and time bound manner.

Indian Bank and SINE: The Public sector Indian Bank recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE).

Highlights:

• The MoU was signed by Indian Bank General Manager (MSME), Sudhakar Rao and SINE professor in charge, Santosh J Gharpure, in the presence of the bank's MD Padmaja Chunduru.

• The Mou was signed for extending exclusive credit facility to Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Key Points:

• The initiative was part of the bank's 'Ind Spring Board for financing Start-ups' scheme to empower the MSMEs and start-ups to realize their efforts, powered by financial support from the bank and backed by incubation facilities offered by SINE, IIT Bombay.

• The Bank will extend loans of up to 50 crore rupees to these start-ups for their working capital requirements or purchase of machinery and equipment.

About SINE:

• SINE is an initiative of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay,

• SINE, IIT, Bombay is the forerunner in setting up joint R&D with industries and supporting start-up incubation.

• SINE, IIT, Bombay provides support to the MSME sector by providing joint research and development arrangements and technical and financial support for incubation and acceleration of high-end technology products.

About Indian Bank:

• Indian Bank is an Indian nationalized financial services and banking company.

• It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India (GoI). It was established in 1907.

• The founders of this bank are S. Rm. M. Ramaswami Chettiar, S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar, V. Krishnaswamy Iyer.

• It is headquartered in Chennai, India.

• The current MD and CEO of this bank is Ms. Padmaja Chunduru.

About Public sector Banks:

• Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are a major type of government owned banks in India, where a majority stake (i.e. more than 50%) is held by the Ministry of Finance of the government of India (GoI) or Ministry of Finance of various state governments.

• The officers working for these entities and their subsidiaries are gazetted officers.

Note: In 2020 more than 10 public sector banks were merged to make 4 major banks in India.

Defence

Swarnim Vijay Varsh Victory Flame: The Swarnim Vijay Varsh Victory Flame was taken to Cellular Jail at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of India’s victory in the 1971 war.

Highlights:

• The event was organized by the Andaman & Nicobar Command at Cellular Jail to mark 50th anniversary of India’s victory in 1971 war.

• The Chief Guest at the event was Army Component Commander Brigadier Rajeev Nagyal.

• Service veterans, senior Military Officers & civil dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

• The events included a band display from the troops of joint services; a light and sound show and a short movie on the 1971 war.

About the Cellular Jail:

• The Cellular Jail proudly stands as a symbol of India’s freedom struggle.

• This Jail was also known as Kala Pani.

• It was used to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago.

• Many notable freedom fighters including Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, , Yogendra Shukla , Batukeshwar Dutt and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, were imprisoned there during the freedom struggle.

• Today, the Cellular Jail serves as a national monument.

About Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a Union territory of India comprising 572 islands of which 37 are inhabited, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.

• The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

• The territory's capital is the city of Port Blair.

• The territory is divided into three districts: Nicobar District with Car Nicobar as capital, South Andaman district with Port Blair as capital and North and Middle Andaman district with Mayabunder as capital.

• The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.

• The current Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Island is Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi.

Talisman Sabre: Australia is keen that India joins its biggest war games ‘Exercise Talisman Sabre’ in 2023.

A formal invite could be extended during Australian Defence Minister’s visit to India, in next couple of months.

About Exercise Talisman Sabre:

• It is a biennial, multinational military exercise between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the U.S. military.

• Talisman Sabre 2021, conducted in July 2021 was the largest bilateral combined training activity between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the U.S. military.

• It also saw the participation of approximately 17000 military personnel from seven nations on land, air and sea.

• To reflect its bilateral nature, leadership of the exercise switches between Australia and the US every 2 years.

• The exercise focuses on crisis-action planning and contingency response, enhancing both nations’ military capabilities to deal with regional contingencies and the War on Terrorism.

• The exercise is historically held in odd-numbered years starting from 2005, with the ninth iteration taking place in 2021.

• The other countries include Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and U.K.

Additional News Info:

• Quad group of countries, comprising India, Australia, Japan and the U.S., are also set to hold the annual Malabar naval exercise 2021 off the coast of Guam towards August-end.

• Australia was included in the Malabar 2020.

India’s participation in other Exercises:

Four frontline warships from the Navy’s Eastern Fleet are scheduled to depart on an overseas deployment of over two months to South East Asia, the South China Sea and Western Pacific during which they will conduct a series of exercises and interactions.

1. Samudra Shakti with Indonesia

2. AUS – INDEX with Australia

3. SIMBEX with Singapore

4. Malabar 21 Exercise (hosted by US) with Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, Royal Australian Navy and the United States Navy

Why are such exercises and interactions conducted?

Such exercises and interactions are conducted for the following reasons:

• To deepen interoperability and high technology cooperation between member countries

• To enhance synergy and coordination between the Indian Navy and friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and commitment towards Freedom of Navigation at sea.

India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting: The 12th round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was recently held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side.

Key Details:

• Both the Indian and Chinese sides had an in-depth exchange of views on resolution of remaining areas related to disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas.

• The two sides had undertaken partial disengagement from Patrolling Points (PP) 15 and 17A in Gogra and Hot Springs last July after disengagement from PP14 in Galwan.

• However, the process was stalled after the aggressive actions on the south bank of Pangong Tso in August.

About Chushul:

• Chushul or Spanggur Gap is in the Leh district of the Indian state of Ladakh region.

• It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake.

• The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 miles east of Chushul, across the Chushul Valley.

• It is famous as site for historical battle grounds.

History:

• On August 1842 the concluding battle of Dogra-Tibetan War with subsequent signing of Treaty of Chushul on September 1842 for border non-proliferation took place at Chushul.

• On 18 November 1962 Sino-Indian War, PVC Major Shaitan Singh with his five platoons of 120 men fought to the 'last man, last round' at Rezang La (Chushul), only 6 men survived the Chinese massacre.

• The meeting point is named after the nearby town (Chushul) or the mountain pass (Spanggur Gap).

IAC Vikrant: India's first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant successfully completed its five-day maiden sea voyage on August 8, 2021.

Highlights:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated the Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard Limited for the maiden sea trial of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant.

• The Indian Navy officials said that the performance of the key systems of the 40,000-tonne warship was found to be satisfactory.

• During the sea trials, IAC Vikrant's performance, including the hull, main propulsion, power generation and distribution (PGD) and auxiliary equipment were tested.

• Vikrant set sail to begin its first sea trial.

• With a planned induction of Vikrant in less than a year, India is set to join a select group of countries having the capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

Key Details:

• Vikrant is named after the Majestic-class aircraft carrier which was operated by the Indian Navy from 1961 to 1997.

• INS Vikrant was designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping.

• This is the first aircraft carrier designed and built in India.

• INS Vikrant has 75 per cent indigenous content and will be commissioned into the Eastern Naval Command.

• It will be commissioned into the Indian Navy by August 2022.

Note: An aircraft carrier is one of the most potent marine assets for a nation, which enhances a Navy’s capability to travel far from its home shores to carry out air domination operations.

About the INS Vikrant:

• INS Vikrant is 262 m long, 62 m wide, and has a height of 59 m;

• It has 14 decks and 2,300 coaches;

• It has a top speed of around 28 knots;

• Its design is completely modelled in 3D.

• Its construction began in 2009.

Background:

• India’s earlier aircraft carriers were either built by the Russians or the British.

• The INS Vikramaditya, currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier that was commissioned in 2013, started out as the Soviet-Russian Admiral Gorshkov.

• The country’s two earlier carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Viraat, were originally the British-built HMS Hercules and HMS Hermes before being commissioned into the Navy in 1961 and 1987 respectively.

Environment

Coral-Damaging Sunscreens: Thailand has banned sunscreens containing chemicals that damage coral from all of its marine national parks.

Key Details:

• Concerns are that the slow-growing corals are being harmed by the lotions the tourists use for sun protection.

• The banned lotions are those containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben.

• According to Thai Department of Conservation, the four ingredients found in sun creams were destroying coral larvae, obstruct coral reproduction and cause reef bleaching.

• A fine of 100,000 baht will be put on people violating the rule.

• Similar bans have been introduced by the Pacific island of Palau and the US state of Hawaii.

About Coral Reef:

• A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals.

• Reefs are formed by colonies of coral polyps that are held together by calcium carbonate. Most of the reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.

• Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria. which includes sea anemones and jellyfish.

• It comprises sea anemones and jellyfish. Corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral.

• Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water.

• Corals are also called as rainforests of the sea.

• Shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems.

• Corals comprises of less than 0.1% of world’s ocean area.

• They are commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters.

• In deep water and cold water, coral reefs exist on smaller scales. Great Barrier reefs of Australia is the largest reef of World.

Note: First ever coral reefs were appeared some 485 million years ago.

Why are Coral reefs under threat?

They are under threat from the following:

1. Excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus),

2. Rising temperatures,

3. Oceanic acidification,

4. Overfishing (e.g., from blast fishing, cyanide fishing, spearfishing on scuba),

5. Use of sunscreen and harmful land-use practices,

6. Runoff and seeps (e.g., from injection wells and cesspools).

How does coral bleaching occur?

• Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel algae that live inside their tissues living in their tissues which drain them of their vibrant colours.

• Normally, coral polyps live in an endosymbiotic relationship with these algae, which are crucial for the health of the coral and the reef.

• The algae provides up to 90 percent of the coral's energy.

• Bleached corals continue to live but begin to starve after bleaching.

• Coral may bleach for other reasons, like extremely low tides, pollution, or too much sunlight, dumping of dredging sludge and cyclic population.

‘Net Zero’ Carbon Targets: Recently, the Independent charitable organization 'Oxfam' has said that ‘net zero’ carbon targets that many countries have announced may be a “dangerous distraction” from the priority of cutting carbon emissions.

What does the report say?

• Oxfam has said in a new report titled “Tightening the Net” that the "Land-hungry ‘net zero’ schemes could force an 80% rise in global food prices and more hunger while allowing rich nations and corporate to continue “dirty business-as-usual.”

• The report also says that if the challenge of change is tackled only by way of planting more trees, then about 1.6 billion hectares of new forests would be required to remove the world’s excess carbon emissions by the year 2050.

Which countries have recently announced net-zero targets?

• In 2019 the Parliament of United Kingdom (UK) passed a legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100 per cent relative to 1990 levels by the year 2050.

• In the same year,, the New Zealand government passed the Zero Carbon Act, which committed the country to zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, as part of the country’s attempts to meet its Paris climate accord commitments.

• United States (US) also recently announced that the country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

• The European Union through plan, called “Fit for 55”, has asked all of its 27 member countries to cut emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

• China also announced that it would become net-zero by the year 2060 and that it would not allow its emissions to peak beyond what they are in 2030.

What does net-zero mean?

• "Net zero" refers to achieving an overall balance between emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere.

• Net-zero is also referred to as carbon-neutrality but it does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.

• That would be gross-zero, which means reduction of emissions from all sources uniformly to zero.

• In contrast to a gross-zero target, a net-zero emissions target is more realistic because it allows for some residual emissions.

• Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

• One way by which carbon can be absorbed is by creating carbon sinks.

Geography:

Gopalpur: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Khanjar recently became the first Indian Navy ship to call at the heritage coastal port of Gopalpur in Odisha.

Highlights:

• The two-day visit was organised as part of Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as well as Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the 1971 War.

• It concluded on 02 Aug 21.

Key Points:

• The visit of the ship was aimed at enhancing ties and spreading awareness with the local populace on aspects of coastal security and maritime operations.

• The ship’s team undertook a cleanup drive at Gopalpur beach and tree plantation in the port premises.

• In addition, books and dry provisions were also distributed to Samarth Orthopedically Handicapped Welfare Association, at Chatrapur in Ganjam district.

About Gopalpur:

• Gopalpur is a coastal town and a Notified Area Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district in the southern part of Odisha.

• During ancient times, Gopalpur served as an important port for the seafarers of ancient Kalinga.

• It is identified with the site Mansurkota located near Gopalpur, just below the mouth of the Rushikulya River.

• It was an important military port during the World War –I where soldiers used to embark on a journey to Burma.

Anaimalai Flying Frog: Frog enthusiast in Kerala has constructed two ponds at Windermere Estate to restore the habitat for the Anaimalai flying frog.

• He sought support from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which took it up as its first rapid action project for amphibian conservation and offered to fund it.

About Anaimalai Flying Frog:

• The scientific name of the Anaimalai flying frog is Racophorus pseudomalabaricus.

• It is also known as the false Malabar gliding frog and false Malabar tree frog.

• It is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae.

• The frog is endemic to the southern part of the Western Ghats.

• The numbers of these frogs have declined rapidly due to the loss of habitat.

• This frog species is known from at least two covered areas, Indira Gandhi National Park and Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.

Characteristics of the Frog:

• The frog is usually larger than bush frogs.

• It is a slender-bodied frog.

• It has a concave head and a rounded, laterally-oriented snout that projects slightly beyond its lower jaw.

• The fingers and toes are extensively webbed and the webbing is light yellow.

• The female can grow up to three inches.

• Juveniles have a distinctive black zebra-like pattern that becomes fainter in adults, resembling venation of leaf.

Reproduction:

• Mating takes place usually between June and October during the rainy season.

• The female creates foam nests on leaves, into which the eggs are laid and the male fertilizes them.

• The outer layer of foam protects the eggs from bacteria, predators and weather changes.

• When the eggs hatch, the nest disintegrates and tadpoles drop into the water body below.

Conservation Status:

• IUCN Status: Critically Endangere

Indian Policy

Ahwagandha Clinical Trials: The Ministry of Ayush has collaborated with the U.K.’s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to conduct a study on‘Ashwagandha’ for promoting recovery from COVID-19.

Key Details:

• The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Ayush, and the LSHTM recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conduct clinical trials of the traditional herb "Ashwagandha."

• Ashwagandha will be administered to 2,000 randomly selected people in Leicester, Birmingham and London to find out whether this herb helps in faster recovery from Covid-19.

• The study will be conducted for a period of three months. Under this, one group of 1,000 participants will be administered ‘Ashwagandha’ [AG] tablets, while the second group of 1,000 participants will be assigned a placebo which is indistinguishable from AG in looks and taste.

• These patients will then be observed to understand the effects of Ashwagandha’ in promoting recovery from COVID-19.

• While there have been several studies on ‘Ashwagandha’ to understand its benefits in various ailments, this is the first time the Ministry of Ayush has collaborated with a foreign institution to investigate its efficacy on COVID-19 patients”.

About Ashwagandha:

• ‘Ashwagandha’ (Withania somnifera), commonly known as ‘Indian winter cherry’, is a traditional Indian herb that boosts energy, reduces stress and makes the immune system stronger.

• The positive effects of ‘Ashwagandha’ have been observed in Long COVID, which is a multi-system disease with no evidence of its effective treatment or management.

• Ashwagandha has also shown success in treating both acute and chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

Note: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and damage throughout your body.

IIST and TU Delft Netherlands: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 4th August 2021, approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and Netherlands' The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) for research collaboration.

Highlights:

• The agreement was signed for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities involving students and faculty members in each institution.

• It was signed on April 9, 2021 and May 17, 2021 at respective institutes.

Key Details of MoU:

• Cooperation with the EWI at TU Delft, the oldest and largest Dutch public technological university through this agreement would lead to developing a joint activity in research in the area of science and technology.

• The parties may exchange students at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level.

• Also, they will mutually discuss and decide the areas of studies and credits to be pursued under the scheme.

• Further, with the MoU, the students will be eligible for a Dual Degree/Double Degree programme in which adds to the initial degree that will be awarded by the home institute.

• The Parties may design and develop research of engineering project assignments which will be pursued by students during their stay both short term and long term, in the partner institute.

• The signed agreement will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of science and technology.

Benefits:

• Cooperation with the EWI at TU Delft, the oldest and largest Dutch public technological university through this agreement would lead to developing a joint activity in research in the area of science and technology.

• The signing of this Agreement shall enable pursuing the following potential interest areas of cooperation such as exchange of faculty members, students, and researchers, scientific materials, publications, and information.

• Joint research meeting, Ph.D. program, Dual Degree/Double Degree programme.

• It will also provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of science and technology.

Samagra Shiksha Scheme: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has recently approved the continuation of ‘Samagra Shiksha Scheme’ for school education for further five years.

Key Details:

• The continuation of Samagra Shiksha Scheme has been approved from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

• This would be called as ‘Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2’

• This scheme is to be implemented with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore.

• It will cover 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million teachers of government and aided schools.

Background:

• The 2018-19 Union Budget had announced that school education would be treated holistically and without segmentation from pre-primary to class 12.

• The Integrated Scheme for School Education, Samagra Shiksha was launched in 2018 in this context.

About Samagra Shiksha Scheme:

• The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme launched in 2018 for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII.

• It ensures inclusive & equitable quality education at all the levels of school education.

• This scheme was launched by subsuming three schemes ‘Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’, and Teacher Education (TE).

• The major interventions proposed under the scheme are:

1. Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention

2. Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

3. Digital initiatives

4. Vocational Education

5. Sports and Physical Education

6. Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training, etc.

Aim:

• This scheme aims on improving the quality of school education by focussing on two T’s – Teacher and Technology.

• Primary aim of the scheme is to support States in implementing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 in accordance with the Article 21A of the constitution of India.

• This scheme was launched with the vision of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education from pre-school to senior secondary stage in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- SDG 4.1 & SDG 4.5- for Education.

Implementation:

• The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level.

• At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy.

Indian polity

Preventive Detention: The Supreme Court held in a judgment on 2nd July 2021, that Preventive detention, the dreaded power of the State to restrain a person without trial, could be used only to prevent public disorder.

What has the apex court recently ruled?

• Preventive detention is a necessary evil only to prevent public disorder.

• The court must ensure that the facts brought before it directly and inevitably lead to a harm, danger or alarm or feeling of insecurity among the general public or any section thereof at large, a Bench, led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman, observed.

• The State should not arbitrarily resort to “preventive detention” to deal with all and sundry “law and order” problems, which could be dealt with by the ordinary laws of the country.

• Preventive detention must fall within the four corners of Article 21 (due process of law) read with Article 22 (safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention) and the statute in question.

What is Preventive Detention?

• Preventive detention (PD) means detaining a person so that to prevent that person from commenting on any possible crime.

• In other words, preventive detention is an action taken by the administration on the grounds of the suspicion that some wrong actions may be done by the person concerned which will be prejudicial to the state.

Preventive Detention in India:

• Under Section 151 of The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) preventive detention is action taken on grounds of suspicion that some wrong actions may be done by the person concerned.

• A police officer can arrest an individual without orders from a Magistrate and without any warrant if he gets any information that such an individual can commit any offense.

• Article 22 of the Indian Constitution provides protection against arrest and detention in certain cases.

Issues with preventive detention:

Arbitrariness:

• The police determinations of whether a person poses a threat are not tested at a trial by leading evidence or examined by legally trained persons.

Rights violation:

• Quiet often, there is no trial (upto 3 months), no periodic review, and no legal assistance for the detained person.

Abuse:

• It does not provide any procedural protections such as to reduce detainees’ vulnerability to torture and discriminatory treatment, and to prevent officials’ misusing preventive detention for subversive activities.

Tool for suppression:

• In the absence of proper safeguards, preventive detention has been misused, particularly against the Dalits and the minorities.

What is the difference between preventive detention and an arrest?

• An ‘arrest’ is done when a person is charged with a crime. An arrested person is produced before a magistrate within the next 24 hours.

• In case of preventive detention, a person is detained as he/she is simply restricted from doing something that might deteriorate the law and order situation.

Tribunals Reforms Bill: Amid the din, Lok Sabha, on August 3, 2021, passed the Tribunals Reforms Bill that seeks to abolish nine appellate tribunals.

Key Highlights:

• The bill was passed by voice vote without a debate amid continuing protests by Opposition parties over the Pegasus snooping row and other issues.

• The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, which seeks to replace the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021:

• Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2021 seeks to replace Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021.

• Bill was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on August 1, 2021.

• Bill provides for abolition of tribunals or authorities under several Acts by amending

• Cinematograph Act of 1952

• Copyrights Act of 1957

• Customs Act of 1962

• Patents Act of 1970

• Airport Authority of India Act of 1994

• Trade Marks Act of 1999

• Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

• Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001,

• Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002

• It also provides for uniform terms and conditions of service for chairperson and members of certain tribunals.

• All pending cases before such tribunals or authorities will be transferred to Commercial Court or High Court.

Jawhar Sircar: He is the former chief executive of Prasar Bharati and TMC leader who took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha.

Highlights:

• He was elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament earlier this week.

• Sircar took oath in Bengali and was greeted by thumping of desk by fellow MPs.

• He was elected to Rajya Sabha on a seat left vacant after TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP before the recent West Bengal assembly elections.

• He spent nearly 42 years in public service and is known as a vocal critic of the BJP government at the Centre.

Governor’s Pardon Power: The Supreme Court on August 3, 2021, held that the Governor of a State can pardon prisoners, including those on death row, even before they have served a minimum 14 years of prison sentence.

Supreme Court verdict:

• The bench held that the Governor can pardon the prisoners even before they have completed minimum 14 years of prison sentence.

• The bench also held that, Governor’s power to pardon overrides a provision given under Section 433A of Code of Criminal Procedure which mandates that a prisoner’s sentence can be remitted only after 14 years of jail.

• Section 433A of the Code cannot and does not in any way affect the constitutional power conferred on the President or Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.

• If the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment, the Governor has a power to grant pardon. Such power is in exercise of the power of the sovereign. However, the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the State Government.

• The court, infact noted that the sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.

• The advice of the appropriate government binds the Head of the State,” Justice Gupta observed in the judgment which referred to the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench judgment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case on the power of remission.

Constitutional courtesy:

• The court noted that “The action of commutation and release can thus be pursuant to a governmental decision and the order may be issued even without the Governor’s approval.

• However, under the Rules of Business and as a matter of constitutional courtesy, it may seek approval of the Governor, if such release is under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Background:

The Bench was considering the feasibility of remission policies in Haryana.

Important Additional Info:

Pardoning Power of the President in India:

• Under Article 72 of the Constitution, the President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence where the sentence is a sentence of death.

Limitation:

• The President cannot exercise his power of pardon independent of the government.

• In several cases, the SC has ruled that the President has to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers while deciding mercy pleas.

• These include Maru Ram vs Union of India in 1980 and Dhananjoy Chatterjee vs State of West Bengal in 1994.

Reconsideration:

• Although the President is bound by the Cabinet’s advice, Article 74(1) empowers him to return it for reconsideration once.

• If the Council of Ministers decides against any change, the President has no option but to accept it.

Pardoning Power of the Governor:

Under Article 161 of the Constitution on India, the Governor of a State shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends.

Difference between pardoning powers of President and Governor:

The scope of the pardoning power of the President under Article 72 is wider than the pardoning power of the Governor under Article 161 which differs in the following two ways:

1. Court Martial: The power of the President to grant pardon extends in cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial but Article 161 does not provide any such power to the Governor.

2. Death sentence: The President can grant pardon in all cases where the sentence given is the sentence of death but the pardoning power of the Governor does not extend to death sentence cases.

Definitions:

Pardon:

• It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.

Remission:

• It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character.

• For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year.

Reprieve:

• It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period.

• Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation.

Respite:

• It denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.

Commutation:

• It denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form.

• For example, a death sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which in turn may be commuted to a simple imprisonment.

International

India UNSC Presidency: India, on 1 August 2021 assumed the rotational presidency of the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month of August.

Highlights:

• India took over the presidency from France.

• India, flagging off its tenure, thanked France, its immediate predecessor in the position, for leading the Council in July.

• This is India's first UNSC presidency during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.

• India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on January 1, 2021.

• This is India's tenth tenure.

• So far it has been President of the body nine times: June 1950, September 1967, December 1972, October 1977, February 1985, October 1991, December 1992, August 2011, and November 2012.

Key Focus Areas During India UNSC Presidency:

• S. Tirumurti India’s permanent representative to the UN, on 2nd August 2021, will hold a press conference on the Security Council’s work plan for the month.

• During its presidency, India is set to organize key events in three major areas of maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism.

• Maritime security is India’s top priority, and it is important for the Security Council to take a holistic approach to this issue.

• India is particularly focused on using better technology to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and how to bring perpetrators of crimes against peacekeepers to justice.

• India, as a leading country in the fight against terrorism will continue to focus on the fight against terrorism.

• India will decide the agenda of the UN’s highest decision making body whose resolutions and directives are binding on all member states.

• India will also coordinate important meetings on a range of issues during August.

• India will also be organizing an event in memory of peacekeepers.

• India along with Pakistan and Bangladesh is one of the top contributors to UN peacekeeping operations with men and material.

Additional Info:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM to preside over a meeting during India's UNSC presidency.

• This was informed by India's former envoy to UN Syed Akbaruddin.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Harsh Shringla will also chair high-level meetings on topics of global importance during India's UNSC presidency term.

• It was in 1992 when the then PM PV Narasimha Rao who had attended a UNSC meeting was engaged in this effort.

About UNSC:

• UNSC is an abbreviation for United Nations Security Council.

• It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

• It is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

• The Security Council comprises of 15 members out of which five members are permanent and 10 are non-permanent members elected for a period of two years.

• Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

• It is headquartered in New York, United States.

• It was founded on 24 October 1945.

• Its function includes the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions.

• It is the only body of the United Nations (UN) with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

• The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.

Myanmar coup: Six months after seizing power from the elected government Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing declared himself Prime Minister of Myanmar on August 1, 2021.

Key Points:

• The leader announced that he would occupy the position for two more years during an extended state of emergency in the country.

• He promised multi-party elections as well as the lifting of the state of emergency by August 2023.

• The announcement comes six months after Myanmar’s democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup, sparking waves of protests throughout the country.

About Min Aung Hlaing:

• Min Aung Hlaing (born 3 July 1956) is a Burmese army general.

• He has served as Chairman of the State Administration Council of Myanmar, a position which makes him the country's de facto leader, from 2 February 2021 to 1 August 2021.

• He has also been the commander-in-chief of Defence Services since March 2011.

• He seized power after overthrowing the elected government led by former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

• He reimposed military rule and martial law, ending a nearly ten-year period of civilian rule from March 2011 to February 2021.

• He served as Joint Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence from 2010 to 2011. He is also a member of the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) chaired by the president of Myanmar.

• He was promoted to the ranks of four-star general in 2011 and five-star general in 2013.

Background:

• Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces from 1962 until 2011, when a new government began ushering in a return to civilian rule.

• Aung San Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.

• She was internationally hailed as a beacon of democracy and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

• However, her international reputation suffered severely following an army crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

• Former supporters accused her of refusing to condemn the military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

• Myanmar’s military overthrew its democratically elected National League for Democracy government in February, claiming that election held in November 2020 was fraudulent.

• The state of emergency was declared when troops moved against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021; an action the generals said was permitted under the military-authored 2008 constitution.

• The military claimed her landslide victory in last year's national elections was achieved through massive voter fraud but offered no credible evidence.

• She was arrested and has since been charged with multiple crimes, including illegally possessing walkie-talkie radios and violating Covid-19 rules.

• Her trial resumed on Aug. 2, as per media reports.

• As protests continue to intensify in the country against the military coup, 940 people have been confirmed to be killed since the military takeover on February 1, 2021.

About Myanmar:

• Myanmar (formerly Burma) officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is a country in Southeast Asia with more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.

• It is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest.

• Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).

• The currency used here is Myanmar kyat.

Ebrahim Raisi: Ebrahim Raisi, on August 05, 2021, was officially sworn in as the new president of Iran.

Key Points:

• The 60-year-old Raisi won the 2021 Iranian presidential election in June, with 62 per cent of the vote.

• Hardline cleric Raisi took over from moderate Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement during his two-term presidency was the 2015 agreement between the Islamic Republic and six world powers.

• With Raisi's presidency, all branches of power in Iran will be controlled by anti-Western hardliners loyal to Khamenei.

• He is also been the Chief Justice of Iran since March 2019.

Iran Crisis:

• Iran has been grappling with a deep economic and social crisis following former US president Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw the United States (US) from the deal in 2018 and reimpose crushing sanctions.

• Tensions in the region are also high following a string of maritime provocations blamed by the West on Tehran.

About Iran:

• Iran also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia.

• It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq.

• Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance.

• The capital of Iran is Tehran.

• The currency used there is Iranian Rial.

• The current President of Iran is Ebrahim Raisi.

Hiroshima Day 2021: Hiroshima Day is observed every year on August 6 to promote peace politics and raise awareness of the effects of the bomb attack on Hiroshima.

Key Points:

• The 6th of August marks the anniversary of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima during World War II.

• Year 2021 is the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city.

• An annual event takes place at the Galway Alliance War in Eyre Square marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945.

History:

• The Manhattan Project, commissioned by the US, created two atomic bombs.

• The first one, called 'The Little Boy' was dropped in the city of Hiroshima while the second one, dubbed 'The Fat Man', was dropped in Nagasaki by the US on August 6 and 9, respectively.

• On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. The bombing killed nearly 80,000 people instantly and tens of thousands more died later of radiation exposure.

• This was the first time an atomic bomb was used. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

• This killed another 40,000 people.

• These two bombings forced Japan to announce on August 15 that it was surrendering unconditionally during World War II.

Significance:

• This day plays a significant role as it focuses on anti-war and anti-nuclear demonstrations in many countries.

• The day also reminds the world about the need for “peace politics” to avoid any more world wars and destruction.

• Several people also take the time to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on this day, which documents the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.

CPLP: Minister for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi said that India in July 2021 has joined the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) as Associate Observer.

Significance:

• This sets a new platform for strengthening India’s historic bonds of friendship with Lusophone countries.

• The move will help in pursuing cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

• It will further enrich and strengthen India’s ties with the Portuguese speaking world.

About CPLP:

• The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) is also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth.

• It is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portuguese is an official language.

• It was founded on July 17, 1996, in Lisbon.

• It is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal.

Members:

• The CPLP consists of 9 member states and 32 associate observers, located in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, totaling 37 countries and 4 organizations.

• There are nine full member states of the CPLP.

• Among them 7 were founding members of the CPLP. They are Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

• Timor-Leste joined in 2002.

• Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014.

About Lusophones:

• Lusophones are peoples and nations that comprise an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign states and territories that recognize Portuguese as an official language.

• This area is known as Lusofonia or the Lusophone world (Mundo Lusófono).

Nikol Pashinyan: The President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, on 2nd August 2021, re-appointed Nikol Pashinyan as the Prime Minister of Armenia.

Highlights:

• The leader of the Civil Contract Party won the majority of seats in parliamentary elections in June 2021.

• Prior to this, the 46-year-old Pashinyan had served as the prime minister in 2018.

• He belongs to Civil Contract Party and serving as leader of the party.

About Nikol Pashinyan:

• Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan is a politician from Armenia country and is serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018.

• He is also a journalist by profession.

• In 1998, he founded his own newspaper.

• He has faced one year for defamation against then Minister of National Security Serzh Sargsyan.

About Armenia:

• Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country located in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.

• It is a part of the Caucasus region.

• It is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the Lachin corridor under a Russian peacekeeping force and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

• Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage.

• The capital is Yerevan (Erevan).

• The currency used here is Armenian dram.

National

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2021: With the passage in Rajya Sabha, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 got approval of both houses of Parliament on 4th August 2021.

Lok Sabha has already passed the bill on July 29.

Key Points about the Bill:

• The Bill was moved on the floor of the house for passage and consideration by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

• It seeks to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.

• The 2008 Act established the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).

• AERA regulates tariffs and other charges (such as airport development fees) for aeronautical services rendered at major airports in India and to monitor performance standards of airports.

• The bill allows tariff determination of a 'group of airports' by way of amending the definition of 'major airport.'

• The bill amends the provisions of the law in relation to tariffs for single airports.

Objective:

• The main objective of the government is to develop not only the high traffic volume & profitable airports but also the low traffic volume of non-profitable airports. The revenue earned by AAI from these airports will be utilized for the development of airports in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

• It would help encourage the development of smaller airports.

• This approach would help in the development of more airports through the PPP route thus, expanding the air connectivity to relatively remote and far-flung areas.

How is an airport designated as a major airport?

• The 2008 Act designates an airport as a major airport if it has annual passenger traffic of at least 35 lakh.

• The central government may also designate any airport as a major airport by a notification.

• The Bill adds that the central government may group airports and notify the group as a major airport.

FTSCs: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the continuation of 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs); including 389 exclusive POCSO courts, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for another two years.

Key Details:

• According to an official release by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Fast Track Special Courts are dedicated courts expected to ensure swift dispensation of justice.

• The scheme would continue from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023, with an outlay of Rs 1572.86 crore — Rs 971.70 crore as central share and Rs 601.16 crore as state share.

• Central Share is to be funded from Nirbhaya Fund.

Aim:

The continuation of the 1023 FTSCs aims at the following:

• Reduce the number of pending cases of the Rape and POCSO Act.

• Provide speedy access to justice to the victims of sexual crimes.

• Act as a deterrent for sexual offenders.

Background:

• To bring more stringent provisions and expeditious trial and disposal of such cases, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted which made provision of stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for perpetrators of rape.

• This led to the establishment of 1023 FTSCs in January 2020 as a part of the National Mission for Safety of Women (NMSW), out of which 389 Courts were proposed for POSCO Act, 2021 related cases in Districts where the pendency of such cases is more than 100.

• The Scheme was launched on 02.10.2019.

• FTSCs are proposed to be expanded to cover all 31 states which are eligible to join the Scheme.

• Fastracking of these cases will declog the judicial system of the burden of case pendency

• It currently covers 28 States of India.

• West Bengal is one of the states which has not started the scheme.

Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021: Parliament has passed the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 with the Rajya Sabha approving it with a voice of vote amid din.

The Bill is for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index.

Key Points:

• This bill which was passed on August 5, 2021 by Minister Bhupinder Yadav , seeks to set up a commission for air quality management in the National Capital Region and its adjoining areas.

• The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 4th August 2021.

• The Bill provides for the constitution of a Commission for better co-ordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems related to air quality in the NCR and adjoining areas.

• Uttar Pradesh (UP), Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan have been defined as adjoining areas where any source of pollution may cause adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.

• Contravention of provisions of the Bill will be punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, or fine of up to one crore rupees, or both.

• Efforts have been made to decriminalize Section 14 (which provides penalty for causing pollution).

• The Bill excludes farmers from the scope of these penalties.

National Handloom Day 2021: National Handloom Day is celebrated every year on 7 August.

Highlights:

• The day is celebrated to honour the contributions of the handloom weaving community in the socio-economic development of India.

• It is also observed to raise awareness about India's handloom heritage, to protect it, and to empower the handloom weavers and workers with greater and better opportunities.

Aim:

• Through this observance, the government aims to honour handloom workers in the country and to empower them with greater opportunities.

• The day also aims to shine a spotlight on the need to protect our handloom heritage.

Why was 7 August chosen as National Handloom Day?

• To commemorate the Swadeshi Movement, 7 August was chosen as National Handloom Day.

• Swadeshi Movement was launched on 7 August, 1905 in the Calcutta Town hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government.

• On this day 116 years ago, prominent Indian freedom fighters - Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others launched the Swadeshi Movement urging Indians to boycott British-made textiles in favour of homespun products for self-reliance.

• The spinning wheel soon became a symbol of the mass movement against British rule in India.

• The objective of the movement was also to revive domestic products and production processes.

Significance of Handloom:

• Indian handloom holds a great cultural significance in history.

• The handloom sector provides livelihood in rural and semi-rural areas of the country.

• It is one of the largest income-generating sources in the country.

• The handloom sector addresses women empowerment as more than 70 percent of all weavers and allied workers are women.

• Handloom is unparalleled in its flexibility and versatility, permitting experimentation and encouraging innovations.

National Handloom Day: History

• First National Handloom Day was celebrated on 7 August 2015, and was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 75th year of Independence, has urged all of us as a nation to buy Indian Handloom products and showcase their grandeur by associating with #MyHandloomMyPride.

• At the National level, “My Handloom My Pride Expo” is being organized from 1 August to 15 August 2021 at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi by National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) to celebrate the 7th National Handloom Day.

Additional Info:

The Government has also implemented a number of schemes like the National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP), Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS), Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) and Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS).

Handlooms of India:

Almost every Indian state has its own unique designs and prints.

Here are few of the handlooms of India.

Ikat from Odisha:

• Ikat is weaved in several parts of the country but Odisha seems to have pretty much mastered the Ikat art of weaving.

• Ikat weavers in Odisha are more often than not the members of communities like the Meher or Bhulia who have inherited the art form and have mastered the trait over the years.

• They strive to bring the rich Oriya culture to life in their Ikats with their unique dyeing techniques.

Bandhani or tie and dye from Gujarat:

• Tie and dye or bandhani is a derivative of the Sanskrit word 'bandh" which means 'to tie' and is one of the most popular textile arts of India.

• Considering they come from one of the most culturally rich states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, bandhani in its full glory is a burst of vibrant colours and glasswork.

• The authentic bandhani features square or round motifs that are a result of the dye—the more intricate your tie and dye the more authentic your bandhani.

Kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh:

• One of the most prominent features of Andhra Pradesh, Kalamkari is a kind of hand-painted or block-printed textile art that dates back to the Indus Valley Civilisation.

• With a history of 3000 years, Kalamkari is known to have evolved during the Mughal era and has managed to retain its grace to date.

Brocades from Uttar Pradesh:

• Banarasi saris are one of India’s most precious textile art forms and wearing one is like wearing a piece of art.

• The weavers of Varanasi are nothing short of artists themselves as they weave with fine gold and silver metallic threads to create exotic delicate brocades.

Patan Patola from Gujarat:

• Made in pure silk, Patola saris are the ultimate manifestation of the weaving prowess that the artisans of Gujrat have attained over several centuries.

• In the Patan town of Gujarat, this silk cloth with double Ikat patterns is brought to life as weavers work diligently for over five months to weave one Patola sari.

Kanjivaram Sarees from Kanchipuram:

• Kanchipuram was the cradle of civilization during the Pallavas reign and is among the seven sacred cities in Hinduism.

• The legend goes that the Kanchi weavers are descendants of the Sage Markanda who was the master weaver of the Gods and is said to have woven tissue out of a Lotus fiber.

• The silk sarees in Kanchipuram are woven out of pure mulberry silk thread.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Corner: TRIFED, in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs, TRIFED is all set to establish an Atmanirbhar Bharat corner.

Note: TRIFED is an acronym for Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India.

Highlights:

• The Atmanirbhar Bharat Corner will be set up in 100 Indian Missions/ Embassies across the world.

• Catalogues and brochures that showcase the richness and variety of tribal products have also been shared with the Missions and embassies for display at the corner.

• The international conclave at Aadi Mahotsav 2021 witnessed the participation of Diplomats from large number of countries and delegates of international organizations.

About:

• The corner will be an exclusive space to promote GI tagged tribal art and craft products besides natural and organic products.

• Among the missions and embassies contacted, 42 of them, from countries such as Jamaica, Ireland, Turkey, Kenya, Mongolia, Israel, Finland, France, and Canada, have reverted.

• TRIFED is in the process of dispatching the first set of tribal products for the corner.

• India enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection Act), 1999, which came into effect from September 15, 2003.

Adi-Prashikshan Portal: Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has launched ‘Adi-Prashikshan Portal'.

Key Details of Adi-Prashikshan Portal:

• It will act as a central repository of all training programs conducted by Ministry of Tribal Affairs and other organizations funded by the Ministry.

• It was launched for strengthening the capacities (in terms of knowledge, skills, attitude) of government functionaries, ST PRI members, Teachers, SHG women, Youth and Tribal Communities.

• All trainers, trainees and master trainers related to the training programs must be registered through this portal.

• All Tribal Research Institutes including Gujarat Tribal Research & Training Society, Gandhinagar have been given training on the functionality of the portal.

Objective:

• The main objective of the portal is to create an end-to-end centralized online interactive training platform on tribal development.

• It seeks to bring together training organizers, thematic experts/resource persons, master trainers, trainees and training material at one place.

TRIFED's 34th Foundation Day: Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) celebrated its 34th foundation day on 6th August 2021.

About TRIFED:

• TRIFED refers to Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India.

• It is a national-level apex organization.

• It functions under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• It was established on August 6, 1987, under the Multi-state co-operative societies act 1984.

• It works towards marketing development of tribal products and provides marketing support to the products made by tribals through a network of retail outlets.

• It is a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’.

• The idea is to set up tribal community-owned Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) in predominantly forested tribal districts.

• The current Managing Director of TRIFED Pravir Krishn.

Aim:

• TRIFED aims to drive tribal development through marketing support for tribal products, both, handicrafts and Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP).

Important Functions:

• It plays the dual role of both a market developer and a service provider, empowering the tribals with knowledge and tools to better their operations in a systematic, scientific manner and also assist them in developing their marketing approach.

• It is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through sensitization and the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs).

• The organization also assists them in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis.

DRIP-2: India and World Bank, on 4th August 2021 signed a $250 million project.

Highlights:

• This project was signed by the Government of India (GoI), Central Water Commission, government representatives of 10 participating states and World Bank for long-term dam safety program.

• The signed project is known as Second Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-2).

• Project will help in improving the safety and performance of existing dams across different states in India.

• World Bank support to dam safety in India includes the recently closed DRIP-1 ($279 million + $62 million Additional Financing) that improved the safety and sustainable performance of 223 dams in six states of India and one central agency.

Key Points about DRIP-2:

• DRIP-2 will strengthen dam safety by building dam safety guidelines, bring in global experience, and introduce innovative technologies.

• The project will be implemented in approximately 120 dams across the states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.

• At the national level it will be implemented through the Central Water Commission (CWC).

• Other important measures that DRIP-2 will also support include the following:

• Flood forecasting systems and integrated reservoir operations that will contribute to building climate resilience.

• The preparation and implementation of Emergency Action Plans to enable vulnerable downstream communities to prepare for and enhance resilience against the possible negative impacts and risks of climate change.

• The piloting of supplemental revenue generation schemes such as floating solar panels.

About World Bank:

• The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.

• It comprises two institutions which are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association.

• It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.

• It was founded on July 1944 by John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White.

• Its main aim is providing financing, advice, and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement.

• The bank predominantly acts as an organization that attempts to fight poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle- and low-income countries.

• The current President of World Bank is David Malpass.

People In News

Pingali Venkayya : On the occasion of birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and other members of Union Cabinet paid homage to him.

Key Highlights:

• Year 2021 marked 145th anniversary of Pingali Venkayya.

• Pingali Venkayya was the architect behind the design of Indian national flag.

• Pingali Venkaiah, who was from Krishna district, designed the National Flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhi during the latter’s visit to Vijayawada city on April 1, 1921.

• The Present-day national flag of India inspired by the design of Pingali Venkayya gave unique identity to India by means of national flag.

Significance of national flag:

• Any country is identified and distinguished by its unique flag, emblem, and anthem.

• Flag is a symbolic expression of how any country sees and identifies itself.

• India’s national flag 'Tiranga' represents its values and thoughts.

• It has a unique meaning that defines what the country believes and strives for

• Saffron colour on top symbolizes strength & courage,

• White colour in middle represents peace & truth.

• Green colour at the bottom symbolises fertility, growth & auspiciousness of land.

• 24 spokes of the Ashok Chakra symbolises that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.

About Pingali Venkayya:

• Pingali Venkayya (2 August 1876 – 4 July 1963) was an Indian freedom fighter.

• He was a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi and the designer of the flag on which the Indian national flag was based.

• The flag he designed was called as Swaraj Flag.

• He was born at Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam, in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

• He was an authority in geology, agriculture and also an educationist who set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam.

• He, however, died in poverty in 1963 and was largely forgotten by the society."

Recognition:

• Pingali Venkayya was posthumously honored with a postage stamp in 2009 for his contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. In 2014, his name was also proposed for the Bharat Ratna.

• In 2015, the then Urban Development Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu had renamed the AIR Vijaywada after Venkayya and unveiled his statue on its premises.

• Further, the Andhra Pradesh Government has also requested the Centre to confer the highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna, to Pingali in recognition of his contribution to the nation.

• ‘Jateeya Pataka Rupasilpi Pingali Venkayya’ by Venna Vallabharao, ‘Pingali Venkayya’ by Apoorv Shrivastava are a few of the books written on the late freedom fighter.

• Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu had once said that Venkayya was the unsung hero of our freedom struggle who made an immense contribution. He devoted his entire life to the nation and worked relentlessly to make India a free country.

• The decision by the Centre is yet to be taken on the proposal.

Additional Info:

Little known facts:

• Pingali Venkayya was an avid flag enthusiast who also came up with a booklet titled ‘A National Flag for India’ in 1916, wherein he had presented twenty-four flag designs.

• He met Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) when he was posted there as part of the British Indian Army.

About Pingali Venkayya’s design:

• Pingali Venkayya's designed flag known as the Swaraj Flag consisted of red and green bands to symbolize the two major communities in the country- Hindus and Muslims.

• His design had given an identity to India and its people.

• Back in the days of freedom struggle, the flag helped in uniting and giving rise to the spirit of independence.

• On the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, he added a white band over red over green with a charkha design onto Khadi bunting.

• The white represented peace and the rest of the communities living in India, and the spinning wheel symbolized the progress of the country. Though the first tricolor was not officially accepted by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), it began to be hoisted on all Congress occasions.

• Gandhiji’s approval had made it sufficiently popular and it was in use till 1931.

• The flag, however, had raised communal concerns after which a Flag Committee was set up in 1931.

• The Congress Working Committee (CWC) came up with a new tricolor which was called the Purna Swaraj.

• The flag replaced the red color with saffron, the white band was shifted in the middle, from over white over green emblazoned with a blue charkha in the centre.

Dhriti Banerjee: She is a prolific scientist who has recently been appointed as the director of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

Highlights:

• Her appointment was approved by the appointments committee of the Cabinet of Government of India (GoI) making her the first woman to be appointed as director of the 105-year-old ZSI.

• She will be taking charge sometime in the next week.

About:

• The 51-year-old has had an illustrious career as a scientist.

• She has worked in several projects like conducting research in zoogeography, taxonomy, morphology and molecular systematic.

• She has been co-ordinator of ZSI’s Digital Sequence Information Project since 2021.

About ZSI:

• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was founded in July 1916.

• It has its headquarters in Kolkata.

• It has 16 regional centres under the ministry of environment and forests and climate change. ZSI started hiring women scientists as late as 1949, nearly three decades since its inception.

• Mira Mansukhani created a benchmark by entering the male dominated organization as the first women employee. 

• On the occasion of its centenary celebrations in 2016, Banerjee had co-authored the “The Glorious 100 Women’s Scientific Contribution in ZSI”, which chronicled the contributions of women scientists in the domain of animal related groups. 

V M Kanade: The Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari recently approved the appointment of retired Bombay high court judge Justice V M Kanade as the new Lokayukta of Maharashtra.

Highlights:

• He was appointed on the advice of the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

• Justice Kanade’s swearing will take place on 11th August 2021.

• Maharashtra was without a full-time Lokayukta for almost a year.

• The previous Lokayukta, (retd) Justice M L Tahaliyani had completed his tenure in August 2020.

About the Lokayukta:

• The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman. Citizens can make complaints of corruption against any government official or elected representative directly to the Lokayukta, who is tasked with speedy redressal.

• The Lokayukta acts like a watchdog and plays a key role in fighting against corruption and bringing transparency.

• Citizens can make complaints of corruption against any government official or elected representative directly to the Lokayukta, who is tasked with speedy redressal.

• The Lokayukta post is important to keep a check on the government and has become a recourse for the man between 2015 and 2020.

Appointment of Lokayukta:

• The Lokayukta is appointed by the Governor of the State, through nomination by its Chief Minister (in consensus with Chief justice of the State High Court, Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Chairman of the Legislative Council).

• Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed nor transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly.

Kumar Mangalam Birla: He is the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group Chairman who has stepped down as the Non-Executive Director and Non-Executive Chairman of the Vodafone Idea (now Vi) Board.

The Vi Board of Directors unanimously elected Himanshu Kapania, currently a Non-Executive Director, as the Non-Executive Chairman with effect.

About Kumar Mangalam Birla:

• Kumar Mangalam Birla (born 14 June 1967) is an Indian billionaire industrialist.

• He is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerates in India.

• He is also the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science.

• He is the chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad too.

About Himanshu Kapania:

• Himanshu Kapania is a nominee of the Aditya Birla Group.

• He is a telecom industry veteran with 25 years of experience.

• He has also served on the Global GSMA Board for two years and was also the Chairman of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) for two years.

• He is presently the Chairman of the FICCI Council on Telecom, Electronics and Digital Economy.

About Aditya Birla Group:

• Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd., (Aditya Birla Group), is an Indian multinational conglomerate company.

• It operates in 34 countries with more than 120,000 employees.

• The group was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857.

• The group has interests in viscose staple fibre, metals, cement (largest in India), viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, insulators, financial services and telecom.

• It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

C.R. Rao Gold Medal Award:Two renowned economic scholars have been selected by the Indian Econometric Society (TIES) Trust for the Prof. C.R. Rao Centenary Gold Medal award.

Both the renowned economists - C Rangarajan and Jagdish Bhagwati have been conferred with the inaugural Prof CR Rao Centenary Gold Medal (CGM).

About:

C Rangarajan is the former chairman of the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI while Bhagwati is a professor of economics, law and international relations at Columbia University.

About the award:

• TIES Trust had constituted a jury to shortlist the awardees.

• Based on the jury’s recommendations, it announced that inaugural award to two distinguished scholars.

• The medal is presented once in two years to an Indian or Indian-origin scholar for lifetime contributions to the fields of theoretical and applied aspects of quantitative economics and official statistics.

Sarla Thukral: Google recently dedicated a doodle on its homepage to Sarla Thukral.

Sarla Thukral is India’s first woman to pilot a flight, on the occasion of her 107 birth anniversary.

Key Details:

• Sarla Thakral (1914 – 15 March 2008) was the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft.

• She earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the young age of 21 and flew a Gypsy Moth solo.

• She was a student of the Lahore Flying Club.

• She was the first Indian women to complete 1,000 hours of flight time to gain her A licence.

• However, when she began preparations to become a commercial pilot, World War II put a stop.

• Thukral then studied fine art and painting at Lahore’s Mayo School of Arts (now the National College of Arts) and later returned to Delhi.

• She, then in Delhi, continued painting and built a successful career designing jewellery and clothing.

Places In News

Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, 2021: The Goa Legislative Assembly recently passed the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, 2021.

Note: Bhumiputra" is a person who is residing in Goa for at least 30 years.

Key Highlights:

• It is a bill providing a mechanism to grant the ownership rights to ''bhumiputras'' (sons-of-soil) who are living in small housing units occupied by them in the state.

• This Bill was passed in the 40-member House by voice vote on the last day of the session on 30th July 2021.

Objective:

• The objective of the Bill is to enable the ‘mool Goenkar (original Goan)’ to live with dignity.

Key Points of the Bill:

• It recognizes anyone living in the state for 30 years or more as a ‘Bhumiputra (son of the soil)’ and giving such a person the right to own his or her ‘small dwelling unit’ if ownership was undetermined so far.

• This bill provides the protection to bhumiputras so that they shall not be evicted from the dwelling units occupied by them and the units shall not be demolished during the pendency of any proceedings under this law.

• Once recognized as a Bhumiputra, an individual can stake claim to ownership of their house of not more than 250 sq m, built before April 1, 2019.

• The Bill provides for the constitution of the Bhumiputra Adhikarini — a committee consisting of the Deputy Collector as its Chairperson.

About Goa:

• Goa is a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea. It is surrounded by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast.

• It is India's smallest state by area and the fourth-smallest by population.

• The capital of Goa is Panaji.

• The current Chief Minister and the Governor of Goa are Pramod Sawant and Bhagat Singh Koshyari respectively.

Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert: The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami recently launched the first-of-its-kind earthquake early warning mobile application named ‘Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert’.

Key Details:

• The main objective of the Bhookamp Alert app is to strengthen public safety.

• The app has been developed by IIT Roorkee, in association with Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA).

• The application is available in two versions, compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.

• This app was initially launched as a pilot project only by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India (GoI), for the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

• Given its success and the need of the region, the IIT Roorkee's EEW project proposal was extended further by the Uttarakhand government.

About the App:

• The Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert is India’s first earthquake early warning’ app.

• Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) mobile app can detect the onset of the earthquake.

• It can issue warnings regarding an earthquake occurrence in the neighbourhood and the expected time of arrival and intensity at the location to prevent any loss of life.

• The app will provide real-time data and Earthquake early warning systems will monitor quakes in real-time.

• The system will send an alert in few seconds and IIT-Roorkee’s control unit will receive signals from the sensors in real-time.

• People will receive notification of the magnitude and source of the earthquake along with a timer that counts down.

About Uttarakhand:

• It is a state in northern India crossed by the Himalayas.

• It is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas, the Bhabar and the Terai and also for for its Hindu pilgrimage sites.

• It is often referred to as the "Devabhumi" (literally "Land of the Gods").

• Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India On 9 November 2000.

• It was carved from the Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh.

• Its winter Capital is Dehradun and summer capital is Gairsain.

• The Chief Minister and the Governor of Uttarakhand are Pushkar Singh Dhami and Baby Rani Maurya respectively.

Delhi@2047: Delhi The Chief Minister of Delhi Shri Arvind Kejriwal Ji recently launched an initiative named Delhi@2047.

Highlights:

• The platform was launched in the presence of Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto and Banmali Agrawala President – Infrastructure, Defence & Aerospace and Global Corporate Affairs Tata Sons Private Limited.

• This initiative has been launched to facilitate cooperation with private entities, CSR initiatives, and philanthropic organizations to develop the national capital into a global city by 2047.

• Delhi@2047 initiative is in line with Aam Aadmi Party's vision document that was incorporated in the state budget for 2021-22.

• Announcing the Delhi@2047 initiative, the Delhi CM said that the government is planning to take the city's per capita income to Singapore's level.

• He also said that Delhi will bid to host the 2048 Olympics.

New Delhi:

• It is an urban district located in the city of Delhi.

• New Delhi officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is a city and a union territory of India.

• It serves as the capital of India is the seat of the State Government of Delhi and the Government of India, as well as the city or local governments as per the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.

• Union Territories are governed by the Union Government.

• The current Chief Minister and Governor of Delhi are Arvind Kejriwal and Anil Baijal respectively.

SKOCH Awards: The West Bengal government has won four Skoch Awards 2021 (platinum, gold and three silver awards) in four categories of governance.

Key Details:

Bengal won the awards under the Ease of Doing Business initiative.

• The State scheme ‘Silpasathi’-the online single window portal won the platinum award.

• The Auto-Renewal of Certificate of Enlistment through the online system for urban areas has received the gold award.

• Online issuance of trade licences in rural areas and the E-Nathikaran: the online system for registration, preparation and submission of deeds has won two silver awards.

The state government will ensure that the ease of doing business in West Bengal continues to be one of the foremost in the country.

About SKOCH Awards:

• The SKOCH Awards was instituted in 2003.

• This Award salutes people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation.

• SKOCH Award winners include the mighty and the ordinary alike.

• They receive this Award for their extraordinary achievements in contributing to the society.

• The Roll of Honour of the SKOCH Award over the years is a testimony to this.

• It is valued as the highest civilian honour in the country conferred by an independent organisation.

• The SKOCH Award covers the best of efforts in digital, financial and social inclusion.

• It encompasses the best of governance, inclusive growth, excellence in technology and applications, change management, corporate leadership, corporate governance, citizen services delivery, capacity building, empowerment and other such softer issues that get normally lost in the glamour and the glitz of industry sponsored or advertising focused jamborees.

About West Bengal:

• West Bengal is a state in eastern India.

• It lies between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.

• It borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north.

• It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam.

• The state capital is Kolkata.

• It was established on 26 January 1950.

• The current Chief Minister and Governor of West Bengal are Mamta Banerjee and Jagdeep Dhankhar respectively.

Science and Technology

Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2): The launch of Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) has been postponed once again.

• It was supposed to lift off from the Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday.

About CST-100 Starliner:

• The spacecraft is called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100).

• It is part of an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS).

• The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Objective:

• Its objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.

Features of the Starliner:

• The Starliner is supposed to carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies.

• It will take roughly 24 hours to reach the ISS, after which it will dock there.

• The spacecraft has been designed to accommodate seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit.

• The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure.

• It is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time.

• It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.

AICTE Translation Automation Artificial Intelligence Tool: The Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu recently witnessed a demonstration by the AICTE officials on a unique tool that translates English language content into 11 different Indian languages.

Key Points:

• The presentation on the ‘AICTE Translation Automation Artificial Intelligence Tool’ was made by AICTE Chairman, Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe and AICTE Chief Coordinating Officer, Dr. Buddha Chandrasekhar at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas

• The ‘AICTE Translation Automation Artificial Intelligence Tool' translates English language online courses into eleven different languages. They are as follows:

1. Bengali

2. Marathi

3. Telugu

4. Tamil

5. Gujarati

6. Kannada

7. Malayalam

8. Punjabi

9. Assamese

10. Odia

11. Hindi

The tool is also capable of translating complex formulae, English books, research journals, Government documents and English videos.

Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) recently secured Patent registration for its innovative Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper developed to reduce plastic menace from nature.

Highlights:

• The Controller of Patent, Intellectual Property of India, on on 2nd August 2021, issued the patent certificate to KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur .

• The plastic-mixed handmade paper was developed under Project REPLAN (REducing PLAstic from Nature).

Key Points:

• This is the first of its kind project in India, where plastic waste is de-structured, degraded, diluted and used with paper pulp while making handmade paper and thus reduces plastic waste from nature.

• The invention is aligned with the Prime Minister’s call for fighting the menace of single-use plastic.

• The technology has been developed by KVIC.

• This technology uses both high & low density waste polythene.

• It not only adds extra strength to the paper but also reduces the cost by up to 34%.

• The product is recyclable and eco-friendly.

Eutelsat Quantum: European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the world’s 1st commercial reprogrammable satellite into space aboard Ariane 5 rocket named ‘Eutelsat Quantum’.

Key Details:

• Eutelsat Quantum satellite was launched from French Guiana and is a fully flexible software-defined satellite.

• The satellite was developed under a ESA partnership project with satellite operator Eutelsat, Airbus & Surrey Satellite Technology.

• It is a sophisticated telecommunications satellite that can be completely repurposed while in space.

• It will allow the user to repurpose and the satellite could be reprogrammed in real-time to suit the changing purposes of the user.

• It is also capable of responding to changing demands for data transmission and secure communication during its lifespan of 15 years and will cover the areas from West Africa to Asia.

• The satellite will remain in geostationary orbit for its 15-year lifespan, after which it will be safely placed in a graveyard orbit away from Earth to avoid becoming a risk to other satellites.

About Eutelsat Quantum:

• Eutelsat Quantum is a UK flagship project with most of the satellite developed and manufactured by British industry.

• Airbus is the prime contractor and was responsible for building the satellite’s innovative payload.

• Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd manufactured the new platform.

• The innovative phase array antenna was developed by Airbus in Spain.

About ESA:

• The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space.

• ESA was founded on 30 May 1975 from the merger of the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO) and the European Space Research Organization (ESRO), both established in 1964.

• It is headquartered in Paris, France.

• Its mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

• The current CEO of ESA is Johann-Dietrich Worner.

Sports

PV Sindhu: Ace shuttler PV Sindhu on August 1st, 2021, created history today by becoming the first Indian woman to win back-to-back medals in two Olympics.

Highlights:

• PV Sindhu is just the second Indian athlete after Sushil Kumar to win two individual Olympic medals.

• Wrestler Sushil Kumar was so far the only Indian to have finished twice on the podium at the quadrennial showpiece event.

• Sushil had followed up his bronze at 2008 Beijing with silver at the London edition.

• The 26-year-old beat her Chinese rival He Bing Jiao of China 21-13, 21-15 in straight games to win the bronze medal in women’s singles badminton at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

• Sindhu had lost to world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the last four on 31st July 2021.

• She had earlier bagged silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She had won silver in the last Olympics in Rio after losing in the final to Carolina Marin.

About PV Sindhu:

• Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu is the first Indian ever to become a world champion in badminton.

• She was born in Hyderabad and both her parents were national-level volleyball players.

• She was the first Indian woman to win the Olympic silver medal in 2016.

• She had won silver after losing to Spain's Carolina Marin.

• Her career's highest world ranking has been world no. 2 in April 2017.

• She is currently ranked 7th in the world.

• She is the only fourth women's singles player to win a medal at successive Olympics after Susi Susanti (gold in 1992 and bronze in 1996), Bang Soo-Hyun (silver in 1992 and gold in 1996) and Zhang (gold in 2004 and 2008).

Tokyo Olympics-Hockey: In Tokyo Olympics, India won bronze medal in men’s hockey defeating Germany.

Highlights:

• They beat four-time champions Germany 5-4 in a nail-biter of a bronze medal match.

• India, who have eight gold medals at the Olympics in hockey, won a medal at the mega event after 41 years.

• Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh scored for India.

• This was the third Olympics appearance for Indian captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.

Goalscorers for India:

• Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minutes) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) were the other goal getters for India.

• Germany's goals were scored by Timur Oruz (2nd), Niklas Wellen (24th), Benedikt Furk (25th) and Lukas Windfeder (48th).

Key Facts:

• Hockey remains India's national game.

• India are still Asia's top team but are now ranked fourth in the world behind Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

• India is the most successful team in men's field hockey competition at the Summer Olympic Games with record eight gold medals (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980), one silver medal (1960) and now three bronze medals (1968, 1972 and 2021).

• Hockey greats Dhyan Chand and KD Singh Babu were the stars as India won six straight Olympic tournaments between 1928 and 1956.

• Five of their eight triumphs came after India's independence from British rule in 1947.

Lovlina Borgohain: Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) became only the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal as she took home the bronze in the women’s welterweight category.

Highlights:

• She roared into the semi-final of the women’s welterweight category after beating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin by a split decision.

• The 23-year-old boxer from Assam, participating in her first Olympic Games, showed great technical acumen as she edged the first round 3-2 and then stamped her authority on the bout by making a clean sweep in the second round.

• The Indian boxer was dominant in the final round too as she won it 4-1 to eventually win by a split decision margin of 4-1.

Key Points:

• Lovlina Borgohain is the third Indian boxer to win Olympic bronze following legendary boxers.

• India’s previous boxing medals have come through Vijender Singh (2008) and M C Mary Kom (2012).

• Including the bronze medal of Lovlina, India has acquired three medals till date.

• Earlier, Mirabai Chanu won silver in weightlifting and PV Sindhu won bronze in badminton women’s individual event.

About Lovlina Borgohain:

• Lovlina Borgohain belongs to the Golaghat district of Assam.

• She started her career as a kickboxer and switched to boxing after getting an opportunity from the field.

• She was selected to participate in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the welterweight boxing category. 

Medals won by Lovlina:

The following are the medals won by Lovlina:

• Gold medal at International Boing Championship in February 2018 in the welterweight category.

• Bronze medal at Asian Boxing Championships in Vietnam in 2017.

• Bronze medal at the President’s Cup in Astana in June 2017.

• Silver medal at Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia in June 2018.

• Bronze medal at 13th International Silesian Championship in Poland in September 2018.

• She also represented India at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi and won the bronze medal in the 69 kg category.

Tokyo Olympics 2020-Wrestling: Ravi Kumar Dahiya wins silver medal for India in Men’s Freestyle 57-kg Wrestling in the Tokyo Olympics on 5th August 2021.

Highlights:

• He lost his Gold medal match after losing in the final to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev.

• Ravi had reached the finals by toppling Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan, a former World Championships silver-medallist, in the semis.

• This is India’s fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the second silver of the campaign.

• The other proud Indian winners are Mirabai Chanu (Silver), PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and the Indian men’s hockey team (Bronze).

• Ravi Kumar is the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to finish on the Olympic podium.

Tokyo Olympics-Javelin Throw: Neeraj Chopra creates history by becoming the first-ever Indian athlete to win individual gold at the Olympic Games on August 7, 2021.

Highlights:

• Neeraj Chopra won India's first gold medal in the javelin throw event with a throw of 87.58m, finishing at the top of the table.

• He is the second Indian-ever to win an individual gold after Abhinav Bindra, who won gold in Men's 10m air rifle in shooting in 2008 Olympic Games.

• His winning the gold medal has taken India's medal tally at Tokyo Olympics 2020 to seven.

• This is India's highest-ever medal haul at the Olympics after the 2012 London Olympic Games.

• India's previous-best medal tally was six medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games, which included two silver and four bronze medals.

Tokyo Olympics 2020-Wrestling: Bajrang Punia has clinched the bronze medal in men's wrestling freestyle 65kg at Tokyo Olympics 2020 on August 7, 2021.

Highlights:

• He clinched the bronze medal after defeating three-time Asian Champion Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0 in men's wrestling freestyle 65kg.

• This is historic as this is India's sixth medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020.

• Punia has become the sixth wrestler in Indian history to win an Olympic medal after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Kumar Dahiya.

• He is the top-ranked wrestler in his weight category.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6, 2021, announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will be now known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

Highlights:

• The highest honour Khel Ratna Award has been rechristened in the honour of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand following the admirable performance of both men's and women's hockey teams in the Tokyo Olympics.

About Major Dhyan Chand:

• Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport.

• He was known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals, in 1928, 1932 and 1936.

• He played International Hockey from 1926 to 1949.

• He was popularly known as The Wizard or The Magician of hockey for his superb ball control.

• He scored 570 goals in 185 matches according to his autobiography, Goal.

• The Government of India (GoI) awarded him Padma Bhushan in 1956.

• Apart from the Khel Ratna Award, India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports, the National Stadium in Delhi was also renamed in 2002 as Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

• His birthday, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India every year.

About Dhyan Chand Award:

• It was instituted in 2002.

• It is an award for life-time achievements in sports.

About Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award:

• It is the highest sporting honour of India.

• It was instituted in 1991–92.

• The recipient(s) is/are honoured for their outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level.

• The first recipient of the Khel Ratna Award was Chess Vishwanathan Anand.

• The other winners of the award include Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes, Dhanraj Pillay, Abhinav Bindra, Pullela Gopichand, Mary Kom, Arjun Bobby George, Rani Rampal.

• The highest sports honour now renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award comes with a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh.

Arts

Ladakh Nomadic Festival:

Lieutenant Governor Radha Krishna Mathur recently inaugurated the Two day Ladakh Nomadic Festival at Korzok Phu, Changthang region of Ladakh.

Key Points:

• The festival was organized by Ladakh Cultural Academy in collaboration with Ladakh Tourism Department.

• The main aim of the event was as follows:

• To bring the Changthang region and its nomadic culture on the tourism maps of Ladakh.

• For the upliftment of the nomadic regions of Ladakh.

• Lieutenant Governor urged the Changthang youth to make efforts to save the nomadic culture.

• He also appealed to take world renowned Changthang Pashmina for further development and promotion.

About Changthang Pashmina:

• The Changthang Pashmina is eight times finer than a human hair and is mainly used in making shawls.

• It is one of the costliest fabrics in the world.

• It is produced only by the Changthangi or Chagra which is a breed of cashmere goat native to the high plateaux of Ladakh in India.

• These goats are generally domesticated and are reared by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang regions of Ladakh.

• The Changthangi goats have revitalized the poor economy of Changthang, Ladakh where the wool production generates more than $8 million a year.

Note: The Changthangi goat breed has been listed on the endangered species list by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.

About the Changpa Tribe:

• The Changpa or Champa are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh.

• A smaller number resides in the western regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region and were partially relocated for the establishment of the Changtang Nature Reserve.

• As of 1989 there were half a million nomads living in the Changtang area.

• The Changpa of Ladakh are high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and and Pashmina goats.

• The Changpa speak Changskhat, a dialect of Tibetan, and practice Tibetan Buddhism.

Note: As of 2001, the Changpa were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of affirmative action.

About Changthang:

• Changthang is the land of nomads located in the east of Leh on the Chinese border.

• Changthang means Eastern Flat Land.

• The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into southeastern Ladakh, India.

• It is a cold desert that receives little rain.

• It is one of the highest plateaus in the world.

• This area is also known as Rupsho valley.

• The average altitude of the area is around 14600 m above sea level.

• The Changtang is home to the Changpa, a nomadic Tibetan people.

• This area is best known for its giant lakes.

• The two largest settlements within the Tibetan Changtang are Rutog Town the seat of Rutog County and Domar Township the seat of Shuanghu County.

• Korzok monastry is located on the shore of the Lake Tso Moriri in Changthang region.

Janmashtami:

India is a diverse country with many festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. One of these festivals is Janmashtami also called Gokulashatami or krishnashtami is festival which is widely observed with much pomp and fervour.

Highlights:

• The day marks the birth of Lord Krishna believed to be the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu.

• This year, Janmashtami fell on August 30, 2021.

• It is usually observed on the eighth day or Ashtami of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Shravan or Bhadrapad (July-August) in India.

Celebrations across India:

• The temples of Mathura and Vrindavan witness the most extravagant and colourful celebrations, as Lord Krishna is believed to have been born and spent his growing years there. Devotees also perform Raslila to recreate incidents from Krishna's life and to commemorate his love for Radha. As Lord Krishna was born at midnight, an idol of an infant Krishna is bathed and placed in a cradle at that time.

• Maharashtra also sees a joyous celebration of this festival as people enact Krishna's childhood endeavours to steal butter and curd from earthen pots. This activity is called the Dahi Handi celebration, for which a matka or pot is suspended high above the ground, and people form a human pyramid to reach it and eventually break it.

• The town of Dwarka in Gujarat, Krishna's own land, comes alive with major celebrations as hordes of visitors flock to the town.

• The well-known culture of celebrating Janmashtami in Eastern and Northeastern India is attributed to the teachings of 15th and 16th century Sankardeva and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The people of Manipur perform Manipuri dance, enacting Raslila – a love inspired dance drama act of Radha and Krishna.

• In the eastern state of Odisha, specifically the region around Puri and in Nabadwip, West Bengal, the festival is also referred to as Sri Krishna Jayanti or simply Sri Jayanti. People celebrate Janmashtami by fasting and worship until midnight. The Bhagavata Purana is recited from the 10th chapter, a section dedicated to the life of Krishna. The next day is called "Nanda Ucchhaba" or the joyous celebration of Krishna's foster parents Nanda and Yashoda.

• Gokulashtami is celebrated with great fervor in South India. In Kerala, people celebrate on September according to the Malayalam calendar. In Tamil Nadu, people decorate the floor with kolams (decorative pattern drawn with rice batter). Geetha Govindam and other such devotional songs are sung in praise of Krishna. Then they draw the footprints of Krishna from the threshold of the house till the pooja room, which depicts the arrival of Krishna into the house. A recitation of Bhagwadgita is also a popular practice.

Outside India

• Janmashtami being one of the most popular festivals for the Hindu community, this auspicious day is not only celebrated in India but also observed worldwide across many countries with great enthusiasm like Nepal, Bangladesh, Fiji, Pakistan etc.

History of Janmashtami:

• According to Hindu mythology, Krishna, the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born on this day to destroy Mathura's demon king, Kansa, the brother of Krishna's virtuous mother, Devaki.

• Considered one of the most powerful human incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Krishna was born around 5,200 years ago in Mathura.

• He was born in an area of chaos.

• It was a time when persecution was rampant, freedoms were denied, evil was everywhere, and when there was a threat to his life by his uncle King Kansa.

• The sole objective of Lord Krishna's birth was to free the Earth from the evilness of demons.

• He played an important role in Mahabharata and propagated the theory of bhakti and good karma.

Economics

CBDC Scheme:

Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa, on 2nd September 2021, unveiled a joint Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) scheme.

Note: CBDCs are digital forms of existing currencies.

Key Details:

• CBDC scheme is a cross border payments trial that uses different central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to assess if this allows transactions to be settled more cheaply and easily.

• The use CBDCs are being explored by many governments and central banks across the world.

• The Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the South African Reserve Bank, and the Bank of International Settlement's Innovation Hub, are leading the scheme.

• China, are trialing retail-focused CBDCs designed to replicate cash in circulation.

• Many governments and central banks of other countries are considering to use wholesale CBDCs in order to improve the internal workings of financial systems.

• Most of the projects are still in early stages and are domestically focused. But, the developing global rules and frameworks on how CBDCs can be used internationally is complicated technically.

• A separate BIS-led project to explore CBDCs for cross-border payments is also in process which involves central banks from China, Hong Kong, the UAE.

Aim of the latest CBDC project:

• The latest CBDC project was launched with the aim of developing prototype shared platforms for cross-border transactions by using multiple CBDCs.

Significance:

• These new platforms would enable the financial institutions to transact directly with each other across CBDCs.

• It would improve cross border payments by eliminating the requirement for intermediaries and reduce the time and cost of transactions.

Note: More countries around the world are advancing their efforts to develop their own central-bank digital currencies, which would offer a centralized, official alternative to decentralized crypto currencies such as bitcoin or ether, or privately issued stablecoins such as tether or US coin.

• The initiative, will also explore different technical, governance and operating designs.

• It will also publish its results in early 2022.

What is Central bank digital currency (CBDC)?

• CBDC is the virtual format of a fiat currency in a particular nation or region.

• It is an electronic record or digital token of official currency.

• This currency is issued and regulated by its monetary authority.

BRICS Bank:

The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by the BRICS group of nations, on September 2, 2021 admitted United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh and Uruguay as its new members.

This first batch of new members was added to the bank as part of its expansion drive.

About New Development Bank (NDB):

• NDB formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

• India, China and South Africa).

• During the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014), the leaders signed the agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).

• It was launched in 2015.

• It is headquartered in BRICS Tower in Shanghai, China.

• The current president of NDB is Marcos Prado Troyjo.

Functions:

• The bank mainly supports public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.

• It mobilizes resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the member countries as well as in other developing nations.

• Since launch, the NDB has signed off some 80 projects worth $30 billion in all of its five member countries stretching across sectors from transport, water and sanitation to clean energy or digital and social infrastructure.

Aim:

• The bank aims to contribute to the development plans established nationally through socially, environmentally and economically sustainable projects.

Background:

• The idea of setting up the bank was proposed by India during the 4th BRICS summit in 2012, which was hosted by New Delhi.

• The first regional office of the NDB was set up in Johannesburg, South Africa while second regional office was established in 2019 in Brazil, followed by in Russia.

Sweat Equity Rules:

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has brought into effect the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021.

Key Points:

• The regulations have widened the scope of employees who can be offered stock (equity) options.

• SEBI has merged the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 (SBEB Regulations) and the SEBI (Issue of Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2002 (Sweat Equity Regulations).

• The companies will now be allowed to provide share-based employee benefits to employees, who are exclusively working for such a company or any of its group companies including a subsidiary or an associate.

• To provide immediate relief to an employee or his/her family in instances of permanent incapacity or death, the regulations have dispensed with the requirement of a minimum vesting period and lock-in period (minimum 1 year) for all share benefit schemes.

• The new regulations have extended the time period for appropriating the inappropriated inventory of shares held by the trust from the existing one year to two years, subject to the approval of the Compensation Committee/ Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

• The regulations now also permit companies to transfer excess shares or monies held by a trust upon its winding up, to other share-based employee benefit schemes, subject to approval of the shareholders for such transfer.

• These new Rules will be applicable only to listed companies as these have been framed by SEBI, which only regulates listed companies.

About SEBI:

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is a statutory body established in accordance with the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992.

• Its basic function is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to regulate the securities market.

Are the new rules applicable to all companies?

• No, these will be applicable only to listed companies as these have been framed by SEBI, which only regulates listed companies. For unlisted companies, any change needed will have to be brought into the Companies Act 2013, by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

What is Sweat Equity?

• Sweat equity is a non-monetary benefit that a company's stakeholders give in labor and time, rather than a monetary contribution that benefit the company.

• Sweat equity is rewarded in the form of sweat equity shares.

• These are shares given out by a company in exchange for labor and time rather than a monetary amount.

Section 2(88) of the Companies Act, 2013:

• As per Section 2(88) of the Companies Act, 2013 “sweat equity shares” means such equity shares as are issued by a company to its directors or employees at a discount or for consideration, other than cash, for providing their know-how or making available rights in the nature of intellectual property rights or value additions, by whatever name called.

Indian Royal Jelly:

Indian Royal Jelly, for the first time has been found to surpass top-quality sellers, including those produced in Thailand and Taiwan.

Currently, country-specific standards of royal jelly standards are available only in Switzerland, Bulgaria, Brazil and Uruguay whereas other countries are in the process of devising the same with the help of International Honey Commission.

About Royal Jelly:

• Royal Jelly is a pearly white or pale yellow-coloured cohesive mixture of honey and secretions from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honeybees.

• It contains moisture or water (60-70 per cent), lipids (1-10 per cent), minerals (0.8-3 per cent), proteins (9-18 per cent), sugar (7 per cent) and other elements.

• Being highly nutritious, this substance is used as food to young larvae and adult queen honeybees.

• Commercially, royal jelly is produced artificially by stimulating bee colonies to produce queen bee, grown outside its natural habitat.

• The larvae in the queen cells are fed with nutritious royal jelly.

• The perfect time to harvest royal jelly is when the maximum amount gets accumulated upon the larva turning 5 days old.

• It needs to be stored in sub-zero temperatures immediately after production, during packaging and also at the consumer’s end.

Uses of Royal Jelly:

• Royal jelly is no medicine but a nutritious substance.

• It is known for being a good antioxidant. It helps women with fertility issues. among other health benefits.

• As it cures damaged cells in the body and rejuvenates them, some cancer patients are advised consumption of royal jelly up to 10mgs.

The Indian Royal Jelly meets the ISO-prescribed standards imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2019, according to Pune-based researchers.

Presently, Indian Royal Jelly is not sold commercially and those available under Indian brand names are, in reality, imported and re-packaged in India.

Defence

President’s Colour:

President of India Ram Nath Kovind, on 6th September 2021, will award the President’s Colour to Indian Naval Aviation at the ceremonial parade to be held at INS Hansa, Goa.

Key Highlights:

• During the occasion, a Special Day Cover will be released by the Postal Department.

• The ceremony is expected to be attended by the Governor of Goa, Raksha Mantri, Chief Minister of Goa, Chief of the Naval Staff several other civil and military dignitaries.

Note: Naval Aviation has been at the forefront in inducting women into the fighting arm of the Navy, and making them work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts.

About President’s Colour:

• The President’s Colour is the highest honour bestowed on a military unit in recognition of its exceptional service to the nation.

• The Indian Navy was the first amongst the Indian Armed Forces to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951 by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India.

• Subsequent recipients of the President’s Colour in the Navy include Southern Naval Command, Eastern Naval Command, Western Naval Command, Eastern Fleet, Western Fleet, Submarine Arm, INS Shivaji and the Indian Naval Academy.

About Indian Naval Aviation:

• Indian Naval Aviation came into being with acquisition of the first Sealand aircraft on January 13, 1951 and commissioning of INS Garuda, the first Naval Air Station, on May 11, 1953.

• It has played a major role in operations such as Op Cactus, Op Jupiter, Op Shield, Op Vijay and Op Parakram as well as spearheaded Humanitarian And Disaster Relief (HADR) operations on numerous occasions both in India and the extended neighbourhood.

• Naval Aviators have been decorated with one Mahavir Chakra, six Vir Chakras, one Kirti Chakra, seven Shaurya Chakras, one Yudh Seva Medal and a large number of Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) over the years,

• Naval Aviation boasts of nine air stations and three naval air enclaves along the Indian coastline and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• Over the past seven decades, it had transformed into a modern, technologically advanced and highly potent force, with more than 250 aircraft comprising carrier-borne fighters, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA).

Maritime Partnership Exercise: The Indian and Algerian navies conducted their first ever naval exercise off the coast of Algeria

Key Highlights:

• The Indian Naval Ship, INS Tabar, is on her goodwill visit to the number of ports in Africa and Europe since June 2021 till September 2021.

• As a part of this visit, INS Tabar took part in the Maiden Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy, off the Algerian coast, in the Mediterranean Sea.

• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar represented India while Algeria was represented by its naval ship Algerian Naval ship (ANS) Ezager.

• The exercise included diverse activities like communication procedures, coordinated maneuvers, and past steam were carried out between Indian and Algerian warships.

The objective of the exercise:

• The objective of the exercise was to enhance interoperability, understand the concept of operations followed by each other, and open up the possibility for both the navies to understand the concept of mutual operations, in the future.

Note: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Satellite Alsat 2A of Algeria into orbit in July 2010.

About INS Tabar:

• INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth Frigate built in Russia for the Indian Navy.

• It is a third Warship of the Talwar class frigate.

• The ship is a part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet, based in Mumbai.

About Algeria:

• Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa.

• It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea.

• The capital and largest city is Algiers.

• The currency used here is Algerian dinar.

• The current President of Algeria is Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

India's Meeting with Taliban: According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India's Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal, recently met the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.

Key Highlights:

• The meeting took place at the Embassy of India, Doha, on the request of the Taliban side.

• The Government of India (GoI), with this meeting, has softened its stance on the Taliban.

• The discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan as well as the travel of Afghan nationals wishing to come to India.

• India’s only concern was that the soil of Afghanistan should not be used for any anti-Indian activities and terrorism”.

• During the meeting, Taliban leader assured the Indian Ambassador that all issues will be positively addressed.

• India has long had concerns about the Taliban because of the group's close ties to arch rival Pakistan.

• In particular, India has had concerns regarding the Haqqani group, which is a part of the Taliban as well as Taliban Deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carried the attacks on the Indian Embassy in 2008-2009.

ZAPAD 2021: Indian Army is all set to take part in ‘ZAPAD 2021’, a multi-nation military exercise being held at Nizhniy, Russia from 3rd to 16th September 2021.

Highlights:

• There will be 17 countries participating in the ZAPAD exercise that includes Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Russia, India, and Belarus.

• Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka are observers at the exercises.

Key Points:

• 200 personnel strong contingent of the Indian Army, primarily from the Naga Regiment will take part as an all ‘Arms Combined Task Force’ for the exercise, which is one of the theatre level exercises of the Russian armed forces.

• The Naga Battalion group participating in the exercise will feature an all Arms combined task force.

• The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations,

• The NAGA Battalion group aims to boost military and enhance strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.

About ZAPAD:

• Zapad' is a theatre-level exercise of Russian armed forces focusing primarily on operations against terrorists.

• The aim of the exercise is to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.

Environment

Indian Satandard Time (IST): On September 1, 1947, the phenomenon of Indian Standard Time (IST) was introduced to the country as its official time.

Key Points:

• IST is observed throughout the country, with a time offset of UTC + 5.30.

• As per IST, India is five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GST).

• India does not follow Daylight Saving Time, like other countries in the world.

• Indian Standard Time is adopted from the 82.5 degrees East longitude, the approximate location of a clock tower in Mirzapur near Allahabad and closest to the corresponding longitude reference line.

Background:

• All the states and Union Territories across India, currently, share the same time, the Indian Standard Time. But, this is not the case pre-independence.

• Before independence, Kolkata and Mumbai retained their own local time (known as Calcutta Time and Bombay Time) until 1948 and 1955, respectively.

• Due to this, there was a huge confusion among the passengers who travel across the time zones.

• To avoid such confusion, Indian Government took up a decision bring the whole country under one Time zone, the Indian Standard Time Zone(GMT+5:30).

• This time is the average of Bombay Time and Calcutta Time.

• The Madras Observatory was established by the British East India Company in 1792 primarily because of the efforts of Michael Topping, a sailor and astronomer.

• In 1802, the first official astronomer of the British East India Company, John Goldingham established the longitude of Chennai as 13°5′24″N, 80°18′30″E, which was five hours and thirty minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

• It was after this advancement that, for the first time, India's day began at 12 midnight, instead of sunrise - which was an initial practice.

• Despite Goldingham's advancement, most towns and cities continued to rely on their own local time measurement systems until the railway system was established in the 1850s.

• In 1884, Mumbai and Kolkata became major centres for the British in India and as they gained prominence, they were established as time zones.

• Kolkata was set at 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT, and Mumbai at 4 hours and 51 minutes ahead.

• The Central observatory was moved from Chennai to a location at Shankargarh Fort in Prayagraj district, so that it would be as close to UTC+05:30 as possible.

• In 1905, the meridian passing east of Allahabad was declared as a standard time zone for the country and was declared as IST in 1947.

Important Info:

Daylight Saving Time (DST) was used briefly during the China–India War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971.

IST in Ancient Times in India:

About Surya Siddhanta:

• Surya Siddhanta is a Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy in fourteen chapters.

• Earlier in the 4th century CE, an astronomical treatise “Surya Siddhanta” had mentioned about Standard Time in India.

• Assuming to which, the earth is spherical.

• The book outlined that the Prime Meridian passed through Avanti (ancient name for the city of Ujjain) at 23°11′N 75°45′E and Rohitaka (ancient name for Rohtak) at 28°54′N 76°38′E.

• The book also elaborates that Rohatika and Avanti are situated on a line which passes through the Equator (76° E) and the North Pole.

• A sidereal day in ancient India began with sunrise at the Prime Meridian in Ujjain and then was divided into smaller time units.

• Despite these early advancements standard time they were mostly used for astrological calculations, and not actual time keeping. Instead, the local kings used the Hindu calendar to keep time in their territories.

• The Jantar Mantar, completed in 1733 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is evidence of this with its 90-foot-tall sundials used to accurately calculate local time.

Environment:

Odisha’s Kendrapara district: Kendrapara district of Odisha has become the only district in India where all three species of crocodiles viz., salt-water, gharial and mugger are found.

Highlights:

• Kendrapara district is crisscrossed by rivers, creeks and water inlets.

• The district has already claimed fame for its successful conservation programme for salt-water or estuarine crocodiles at the Bhitarkanika National Park

• The Bhitarkanika National Park comprises of 1,768 estuarine crocodiles and is home to 70 per cent of India’s estuarine crocodiles.

• Now, with the sighting of mugger and gharial crocodiles, all three species of crocodiles are found in the river systems of Kendrapara district.

• Gharial hatchling was rescued from Paika River which is a tributary of Mahanadi on August 29, 2021.

• In 2016, a 14-feet-long mugger was sighted.

Background:

The State forest department began conservation of these crocodile species in 1975 by establishing three rearing centres.

1. Tikarpada for gharials in Angul district.

2. Ramatirtha for muggers in Mayurbhanj.

3. Bhitarkanika for saltwater crocodiles in Kendrapara district.

Bhitarkanika River Systems:

• Bhitarkanika river systems are home to saltwater crocodiles.

• On the other hand; Mahanadi River, Brahmani Rivers and their tributaries are inhabited by muggers and gharials.

• Sighting of the crocodiles is significant because conservation of these species (Muggers and Gharials) has not been as successful as that of the estuarine crocodiles.

Ramsar Site - Bhitarkanika National Park:

• This larger national park is located in the northeast Kendrapara district of Odisha.

• It obtained the status of a Ramsar site in 2002.

• The area is the second Ramsar site of Odisha after the Chilika Lake.

• The Park is surrounded by Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Gahirmatha Beach, Marine Sanctuary, separating swamp region as well as mangroves from the Bay of Bengal.

• Park is home to saltwater crocodile, king cobra, Indian python, black ibis, darters and other species of flora and fauna.

Note:

• The crocodilian family consists of 27 different species that are subdivided into three families: True crocodiles, alligators and caimans and gharials.

• All three species of crocodilians in the river systems of Odisha were on the verge of extinction by the 1970s.

• Piecemeal efforts were being made from the 1960s onwards to save them.

About the 3 crocodile species are found in India:

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus):

• They are found in coastal areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

• They have the broadest distribution of any modern crocodile, ranging from the eastern coast of India, throughout most of Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.

• They are apex predators.

• Least Concern in IUCN Red List.

Gharials:

• It is the longest and rarest Crocodile.

• Their major population remains in three tributaries of the Ganges River, the Chambal and the Girwa Rivers in India, and the Rapti-Naryani River in Nepal.

• The gharial reserves of India are located in three States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

• National Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary is in Chambal.

• Critically endangered in IUCN Red List.

Mugger Crocodile:

• Medium-sized crocodile that mostly inhabits freshwater lakes, ponds, sluggish rivers, swamps and marshes.

• Found throughout the Indian subcontinent.

• Vulnerable in IUCN Red list.

Neelakurinji: Neelakurinji flowers have recently bloomed in Kodagu district of Karnataka after 12 years.

Note: This kind of mass flowering is known as gregarious flowering.

The two hills of Mandalpatti and Kote Betta and Kumara Parvata in Karnataka have been witnessing the blossoming of Neelakurinji for the last few days.

About the flower:

• It is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

• Neelakurinji flower symbolises love and is also known as "flower of love". Locally, they are called "Kurinji" flowers.

• The Neelakurinji`s name originated from the River Kunthi.

• This rare flower has 250 varieties and they bloom at varied times.

• While some bloom in a gap of 5 years, 12 years and some varieties take 14 years to bloom

• These flowers grow at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 metres.

• Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji.

• Kurinjimala Sanctuary of Kerala protects the kurinji in approximately 32 km2 core habitat in Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Idukki district.

• Kurinji Andavar temple located in Kodaikanal of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Tamil God Murugan also preserves these plants.

• The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.

• As many as 46 varieties of Neelakurinji flowers are found in India, which also possesses medicinal value.

• Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the Shevroy in the Eastern Ghats, Sanduru hills of Bellary district in Karnataka.

Indian Policy

Glue Grant Scheme: Forty Central universities will be implementing innovative measures such as the academic credit bank and the Glue Grant Scheme.

About Glue Grant Scheme:

• The glue grant scheme was announced in this year’s budget.

• Under the Glue Grant Scheme, institutions in the same city would be encouraged to share resources, equipment and even allow their students to take classes from each other.

• This is the first step for multidiciplinarity.

• Ultimately, faculty will be able to design joint courses and a Delhi University(DU) student will be able to take a few classes at IIT-Delhi or vice versa,

• This also means that institutions need not duplicate work by developing the same capacities, but would be able to build on each other’s expertise.

About Academic Credit Bank:

• Under this system, the students can attain qualifications by earning credits rather than specific durations on campus.

• A certain number of credits would add up to a certificate, then a diploma and then a degree. This would allow for multiple entries and exit points.

• Moreover, students can earn up to 40% of their credits in online Swayam classes. In the future, the credits will be valid across institutions.

Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS): The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to form a committee to review the existing guidelines of the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS).

• A ten member Committee headed by Shri Ashok Kumar Tandon, renowned Journalist and Member, Prasar Bharati has been constituted to take a look at the existing guidelines of JWS of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and make appropriate recommendations for changes therein.

About the committee:

• The committee will revise the quantum of ex-gratia payment in case of death as well as in other cases under the scheme.

• The terms of reference (ToR) of the committee include examining the need for such a revision of the quantum of ex-gratia payment.

• It will look into the aspect of differentiation or parity between accredited and non-accredited journalists for availing benefits under the scheme.

• The committee shall give its recommendations within two months and all secretarial assistance for convening its meetings will be provided by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Significance:

• This decision is considered significant in the light of the several changes that have taken place in the media eco space including the loss of a large number of journalists due to COVID-19 and the broad basing of the definition of the “Working Journalists”.

• With the enactment of Occupational, Safety, Health and Working Condition Code 2020, the definition of the Working Journalists has been broadened to include within its fold those working in both traditional and digital media.

About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:

• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is a ministerial level agency of the Government of India (GoI).

• It is responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws in the areas of information, broadcasting, the press and the Cinema of India.

• The Ministry is responsible for the administration of Prasar Bharati, the broadcasting arm of the Indian Government.

• The Central Board of Film Certification is the other important statutory body under this ministry being responsible for the regulation of motion pictures broadcast in India.

• This ministry was founded on 15 August 1947.

• The current Minister of Information and Broadcasting is Anurag Thakur (Union Minister).

Laddu Distribution Scheme: The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah recently launched nutritious a ‘Laddu Distribution Scheme’.

• This scheme has been launched for pregnant women in his Parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.

About the scheme:

• Under this scheme, around 7,000 pregnant women in Gandhinagar area will be provided 15 nutritious laddu each, free of cost, till birth of their child, through NGOs

• There will be no expenditure by the Government, as the responsibility for this will be borne by the NGOs.

The Shikshak Parv-2021: The Department of School Education and Literacy (DOSEL) recently decided to celebrate Shikshak Parv-2021 from September 5 to 17.

Highlights:

• The Shikshak Parv-2021 will be celebrated through online mode to recognise the contributions of teachers and take the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 one step forward.

• It will be conducted on the occasion of Teacher’s Day celebrations.

• A dedicated website for the event has been created by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, National Informatics Centre.

• This event will be celebrated to honour the contribution of teachers.

• As per reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the event online on September 7, 2021.

• On the occasion, PM will launch five initiatives:

1. Indian sign language dictionary of 10,000 words

2. Talking books (audio books for visually impaired)

3. School quality assessment and accreditation framework (SQAAF) of CBSE

4. NISTHA teachers’ training programme for NIPUN Bharat, and

5. Vidyanjali portal to facilitate education volunteers, donors and CSR contributors in development of school.

Shikshak Parv-2021:

• Shikshak Parv-2021 will be celebrated by Ministry of Education (MoE) from September 5 to 17, 2021.

• It will be organized to recognize the valuable contributions of teachers and to take National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 ahead.

Theme of the webinars:

• The theme of webinars has been divided into nine sub-themes such as Technology in Education: NDEAR, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: A Prerequisite to Learning and ECCE, Nurturing Inclusive Classrooms etc. to highlight the best practices and initiatives which can be adopted by schools of India.

• The inaugural conclave will be followed by webinars, presentations, discussions, etc. till September 17 in which teachers and educational practitioners will deliver speeches on schools quality and innovation related issues.

• The SCERT and DIET will also contribute to the webinars.

Indian polity

Parasaram Pattabhi Kesava Ramacharyulu: Parasaram Pattabhi Kesava Ramacharyulu has been appointed as the new Secretary General Of Rajya Sabha.

Key Points:

• Dr. Ramacharyulu, 63, was appointed by the Rajya Sabha Chairman M.Venkaiah Naidu.

• He had been working as Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat since 2018.

• He replaces Desh Dipak Verma, who demitted office as Secretary General on 31st August 2021 after serving for four years.

• Ramacharyulu is the first ever Upper House employee to have risen to the secretary general’s post in about 70 years since the Rajya Sabha came into being in 1952.

• Nine such insiders have become the Secretary General of Lok Sabha so far.

About Parasaram Pattabhi Kesava Ramacharyulu:

• Born on March 20, 1958, Dr. Ramacharyulu has about 40 years of experience of handling various aspects of the functioning of the Parliament.

• He joined the Secretariat in 1983 after serving in the Lok Sabha Secretariat for a year earlier.

• He served as Special Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Legislature, in 2017.

• A Bachelor of Laws and Master of Arts (Political Science) degree holder, Ramacharyulu was awarded Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) by the Jawaharlal Nehru University for his work on ‘Committee Systems of Indian Parliament and the US Congress: A Comparative Study’ in 2005.

About Rajya Sabha:

• The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India.

• It is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution.

• At present the Rajya Sabha has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through Open Ballot while the President has the power to appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services.

• The Upper House was founded on 3 April 1952 by the Constituent Assembly of India.

• It is headquartered in New Delhi.

• The current Chairperson is Mr. Ramacharyulu.

Note: For the first time the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is the first insider to rise from the ranks of the Secretariat as it’s ahead in about 70 years since the Rajya Sabha came into being in 1952.

Freedom of Movement and Residence: The Supreme Court f India (SCI) has held that the power of the State to pass an externment order or a direction barring certain people entry to specified areas should be exercised only in “exceptional cases”.

Key Points:

• A Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V. Ramasubramanian held in a judgment that the rights to free movement and residence across India cannot be curtailed on flimsy grounds.

• The Apex court said externment orders have their use in maintaining law and order. However, they cannot be employed as a vindictive or retaliatory measure.

• The drastic action of externment should only be taken in exceptional cases, to maintain law and order in a locality and/or prevent breach of public tranquillity and peace.

What does externment mean?

• A system of preventing people from entering into a particular place for a certain period, due to their ability to affect that place’s conditions by criminal activity, as exhibited by their prior conduct, this system of restraining the criminal activities is known as externment.

Note: The word ‘extern’ is derived from the Latin root ‘externus’, meaning outward.

• The provisions for providing the power of externment to the concerned authorities can be found in many statutes such as The Maharashtra Police Act (MPA) 1951, Punjab Security of State Act 1953, and Assam Maintenance of Public Order Act 1947, Karnataka Police Act et al.

About Freedom of Movement and Residence:

• Article 19(1)(d) and (e) of the Indian Constitution guarantees to every citizen of India right to move freely throughout the territory of India and to reside and settle in any Part of the of the Territory of India.

• This right is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribes.

About Freedom of Movement under Article 19(1)(d):

• All Citizens of India have the right “to move freely throughout the territory of India.

• This Right is, however subject to reasonable restrictions mentioned under Article 19(5).

Restrictions:

• This clause (5) empowers the State to impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interest of any Scheduled Tribe.

About Freedom of Resident under Article 19(1)(e):

• Article 19(1)(e) of the Indian Constitution guarantees to every citizen of India, the right “to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India”.

Restrictions:

• This right is subjected to reasonable restrictions which may be imposed by the State in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interest of any Scheduled Tribe.

Additional facts:

• The Freedom of Movement and Residence apply only to citizens of India and not the Foreigners.

• A foreigner cannot claim the right to reside and settle in the country as guaranteed by Article 19(1) (e).

• The Government of India (GoI) has the power to expel foreigners from India.

Articles 15 and 25: Recently the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked if the Union government had “sold off” Articles 15 and 25 of the Constitution.

• He asked this on twitter whle posting a video that showed alleged instances of Muslim men being attacked and asked to chant “Jai Sri Ram”.

About Article 15 and 25:

• Articles 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

• However, the State is not precluded from making special provisions for women and children or any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

• Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion of their choice.

• The right to propagate, however, does not include the right to convert another individual, since it would amount to an infringement of the other's right to freedom of conscience.

9 new judges of SCI: Nine new judges, including three women, have recently been administered the oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court of India (SCI) by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana.

Key Points:

• With the swearing of the nine new judges the strength of the Supreme Court has risen to 33, including the CJI, out of the sanctioned strength of 34.

• Three out of these nine new judges — Justice Vikram Nath and Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice PS Narasimha — are in line to become the chief justice of India.

Before the administration of oath of office, the warrant of appointment issue by President Ram Nath Kovind was read during the swearing-in ceremony.

Historic moment for SCI:

• This is the first time that nine judges were sworn in together in the history of the top court.

• Three of them are women judges.

• One of them, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, is slated to be CJI in 2027.

• With the new appointments, the number of women judges in the Supreme Court has gone up to four which is the highest number of women judges ever in the Supreme Court.

• Traditionally, new judges take the oath of office in the CJI’s courtroom, but due to that Covid pandemic, the swearing-in ceremony was held in the auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex and it was also the first time a live telecast of the ceremony was allowed by the apex court.

Background:

• The apex court Collegium had on August 17, 2021, recommended these nine names for appointment as judges of the top court.

• Later, the President had signed the warrants of their appointment as apex court judges.

About the nine new judges of the Supreme Court:

1. Justice Vikram Nath: Justice Nath, who was the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court, is in line to become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting top court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.

2. Justice BV Nagarathna: Justice Nagarathna was a judge of the Karnataka High Court. Justice Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.

3. Justice PS Narasimha: Justice Narasimha was a senior advocate and former additional solicitor general. He would succeed Justice Nagarathna as the CJI and would have a tenure of over six months.

4. Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka: Justice Oka was the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court.

5. Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari: Justice Maheshwari was the chief justice of the Sikkim High Court.

6. Justice Hima Kohli: Justice Kohli was the chief justice of the Telangana High Court.

7. Justice CT Ravikumar: Justice Ravikumar was a judge of the Kerala High Court.

8. Justice MM Sundresh: Justice Sundresh was a judge of the Madras High Court.

9. Justice Bela M Trivedi: Justice Trivedi was a judge of the Gujarat High Court.

About Supreme Court of India (SCI):

• The Supreme Court of India (SCI) is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review.

• It consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of 34 judges, it has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions.

• It is regarded as the most powerful public institution in India.

• It was established on 26 January 1950.

• It is headquartered in New Delhi.

• The current CJI of the Supreme Court is Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana.

• He is the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI)

International

International Day for People of African Descent: The International Day for People of African Descent was celebrated for the first time on 31 August 2021.

Aim:

• The main aim of celebrating this day by the United Nations is to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.

History:

• The year 2020 marked the midterm of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

• 
  While some progress has been made at legislative, policy, and institutional levels, people of African descent continue to suffer intersectional and compounded forms of racial discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion.

• The year 2020 also marked a turning point in the way these issues are being addressed at international and national levels. The murder of George Floyd followed galvanized people to protest racism and racial discrimination and prompted important global discussions on racial justice.

• On 19 June 2020, the Human Rights Council adopted the resolution on the “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers”.

Resolution on Afghanistan: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), on August 30, 2021 under the Presidency of India, adopted a resolution on the situation in Afghanistan.

India has assumed the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August.

Key Highlights:

• The 7-point resolution on Afghanistan adopted by UNSC demanded that the Taliban-captured Afghan territory, ‘not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists’.

• Resolution was put forward by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies namely the UK, the US, and France.

• It was adopted with the votes of 13 Council members in favour.

• Permanent members Russia and China abstained from the voting.

• This is the first resolution adopted by the UNSC on the Afghanistan situation since the Taliban's takeover of the war-torn country.

Taliban Takeover:

• The Taliban, on August 15, 2021, tookover Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

• They captured most of the territories in war-torn Afghanistan two weeks before the United States was set to complete its troop withdrawal, ending the longest war in US history.

• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was also forced to flee to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• The US and North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have pulled their military forces out of the country.

About United Nations Security Council (UNSC):

• UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

• It was founded on 24 October 1945.

• UNSC was created after World War II to address failings of the League of Nations in maintaining peace across the world.

• It is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

• Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

• It is headquartered in New York, United States.

• Its function includes the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions.

• It is the only body of the United Nations (UN) with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

• The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.

Members:

• The Security Council comprises of 15 members out of which five members are permanent and 10 are non-permanent members elected for a period of two years.

• The permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

• Permanent members can use their veto power on substantive resolution.

• Remaining ten members are elected on a regional basis and serve for a term of two years. Presidency of the body rotates monthly among its members.

Universal Postal Union (UPU): India has won the elections for membership of two key bodies of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), during the 27th UPU Congress in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Key Highlights:

• India was elected with 106 votes out of 156 countries to the Postal Operations Council (POC).

• India also got elected to the Council of Administration (CA) with 134 votes.

• The country received the highest votes in CA elections from South Asia and the Oceania region.

• India will now work with all to strengthen cooperation in the Universal Postal Union.

• The UPC meets every 4 years.

About Universal Postal Union (UPU):

• The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.

• It was established by the Treaty of Bern 1874 on 9 October 1874.

• UPU’s headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.

• The UPU contains four bodies consisting of Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC), and the International Bureau (IB).

• It also oversees the Telematics and Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives.

• The current Universal Postal Union Director-General is Masahiko Meteko.

About Postal Operations Council:

• The Postal Operations Council (POC) is the technical and operational authority of UPU.

• It is made up of 40 member countries that are elected during Congress.

• The organization elects its own chair and meets once a year at the headquarters of the UPU in Berne.

• The work of the POC is aimed at assisting Posts in modernizing and upgrading their postal products and services.

• It is concerned with the postal service’s operational, economic, and commercial aspects. In areas where uniform procedures are required, the council also offers recommendations to member countries on standards for technological, operational, or other processes.

About the Council of Administration (CA):

• The Council of Administration (CA) is made up of 41 countries.

• The council meets once a year at the headquarters of the UPU in Berne.

• It oversees the UPU’s activities, provides continuity between Congresses, and researches regulatory, administrative, legislative, and legal concerns.

• The CA has the authority to approve recommendations by the Postal Operations Council for the adoption of regulations or new processes until the next Congress, ensuring that the UPU can respond promptly to developments in the postal environment.

Sri Lanka Economic Emergency: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently declared an economic emergency in the country.

Key Details:

• The emergency was declared to contain soaring inflation after a steep fall in the value of the South Asian country’s currency caused a spike in food prices.

• The state of emergency was declared under the public security ordinance to prevent the hoarding of essential items, including rice and sugar.

• The Sri Lankan Government has also increased penalties for food hoarding.

• The president promulgated emergency regulations under the Public Security Ordinance on the supply of essential goods.

• The wide-ranging measure is also aimed at recovering credit owed to state banks by importers.

• But shortages of food come as Sri Lanka battles a fierce coronavirus wave, claiming more than 200 lives a day.

What is the reason for rising prices?

• The Sri Lankan rupee has fallen by 7.5 per cent against the US dollar this year.

• The increase in the foreign exchange rate.

• The country, which is a net importer of food and other commodities, is witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths which has hit tourism, one of the country’s main foreign currency earners.

• President also named a top army officer as “Commissioner General of Essential Services to coordinate the supply of paddy, rice, sugar and other consumer goods”.

• This move followed sharp price rises for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes.

• Price rise was supplemented by long queues outside stores because of shortages of milk powder, cooking gas and kerosene oil.

• A presidential aide has warned that fuel rationing may also be introduced by the end of the year unless consumption was reduced.

About Sri Lanka:

• Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia.

• It is located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea.

• The capitals of Srilanka are Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.

• Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital while Colombo is the largest city and center of commerce.

• The currency used here is Sri Lankan rupee.

• The current President and Prime Minister of Srilanka are Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa respectively.

India and Russia: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Institute of Professional Accountants of Russia (IPAR).

Key Points:

• The MoU between ICAI of India and IPAR of Russia seeks to help in establishing mutual cooperation in the areas of Professional Accountancy Training, Professional Ethics, Technical Research, Advancement of Accounting Knowledge, Professional and Intellectual Development.

• It is expected to give ICAI Members a boost in their quest for professional possibilities in Russia.

 

• The ICAI will be able to help in deepening the partnership with Russia by providing Export of Accountancy Services under the terms of the MoU.

Impact:

• The goal of the MoU is to collaborate in order to build a mutually beneficial relationship that benefits both ICAI members and the two organizations.

About ICAI:

• The ICAI is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for the regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India.

• ICAI has contributed immensely in the field of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards in furtherance of the profession of Chartered accountants, which is recognized globally.

About IPAR:

• The Institute of Professional Accountants of Russia (IPAR) is the largest not-for-profit accounting organization of Russia.

UN Security Council: India officially took over the presidency of UNSC on August 2, 2021.

Highlights:

• This is India’s eighth term as a non-permanent member of UNSC and it has assumed the rotating presidency in all its terms since 1950.

• The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States’ names.

• India’s previous tenures according to the details provided under “Members” category in the UNSC website has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.

Key Points:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually presided over the Council meeting. He is the first Indian PM to chair an open debate at the UNSC.

• Last year when the UN celebrated the 75th year of its foundation, India was elected to the Council along with Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway. India began its eighth term on January 1, 2021.

• Accordingly, the presidency of UNSC was passed on from France to India in August 2021, and Ireland will take over the role from India in September.

• India is set to take over presidency of the council again in December 2022.

About UNSC:

• United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

• The Security Council comprises of 15 members out of which five members are permanent and 10 are non-permanent members elected for a period of two years.

• Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

• It is headquartered in New York, United States.

• It was founded on 24 October 1945.

• Its function includes the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions.

• It is the only body of the United Nations (UN) with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

• The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.

Important Additional Info:

• India is a founding member of the UN.

• India signed the Charter of the United Nations along with 50 other countries in 1945 even before gaining independence is a measure of its credentials—millennial civilizations, multi-faceted diversities and peaceful vocation.

• Vijaya Laxmi Pandit was elected president of the eight-session of the UN General Assembly in 1953, the first woman to head the organization.

• Over the decades, India has made an enormous contribution to the United Nations through the efforts of its government and the work of Indian scholars, soldiers and international civil servants.

• Since the onset of its peacekeeping mission in 1948, India has sent contingents on 49 occasions, contributed close to 200,000 troops, and in 2007 had the unique distinction of deploying the first all-women peacekeeping force to Liberia.

National

National Small Industry Day: Every year on August 30, India celebrates National Small Industry Day to commemorate the contribution of small-scale industry to the country’s growth.

Key Points:

This day is celebrated to support and promote small Industries for their overall growth potential and opportunities received for their development in the year.

The day aims to promote the value of small businesses in the society and to encourage the small industries across the country.

History:

• On this day in 2000, a comprehensive policy package for the Small Scale Industry (SSI) sector was launched, providing significant support to small firms in India.

• The erstwhile Ministry of Small Scale Industries which is now the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium enterprises (MSME) has decided to designate 30th of August every year as the National Small Industry Day.

Note:

• On the other hand, the UN General Assembly has declared June 27 as the MSME Day to enhance public awareness of MSMEs’ contribution to sustainable development and the global economy.

• The day is celebrated since 2017 following a resolution passed in the Assembly during the year.

• According to a UN blog, formal and informal MSMEs make up over 90 per cent of all firms and account, on average, for 70 per cent of total employment and 50 per cent of GDP worldwide.

What role do the MSMEs play in India?

• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy over the last five decades

• The MSMEs have contributed immensely to the country's socio-economic development.

• It not only generates employment opportunities but also works hand-in-hand towards the development of the nation's backward and rural areas.

• It is the boon for the fresh talent in India.

• India is home to more than 6.3 crore MSMEs and contributes 45% of the total exports in sub sectors like leather, pharmaceuticals, textiles gems & Jewelry and automotives, etc.

Some of the key reforms introduced by Ministry of MSME are:

Revision of MSME definition:

• Government of India (GoI) approved the upward revision of MSME definition on 1st June 2020.

• It was approved under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package.

• The Government revised the MSME classification by inserting composite criteria of both investment and annual turnover.

Udyam Registration:

• Udyam is an online and simplified procedure of filing of registration.

• It enables MSMEs to obtain registration without any documentation and fees.

Champions Portal:

• It is an ICT based technology system.

• The platform is aimed at making the smaller units big by solving their grievances, encouraging, supporting, helping and handholding throughout the business lifecycle.

• It facilitates a single window solution for all needs of MSMEs.

National SC-ST Hub (NSSH):

• National SC-ST Hub has been launched to promote entrepreneurship culture in the SC-ST community and fulfill the 4% procurement target mentioned in the Public Procurement Policy order, 2018.

Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund:

• The scheme is expected to facilitate equity financing of Rs.50,000 crore in the MSME Sector.

• The infusion of equity will provide an opportunity to get MSMEs listed in stock exchanges.

Procurement Policy:

• For providing marketing support to MSEs, all Central Ministries/Government Departments and CPSEs are required to procure 25% of their annual requirements of goods and services from MSEs including 4% from MSEs owned by SC/ST and 3% from MSEs owned by women entrepreneurs under the Public Procurement Policy.

Establishment of Enterprise Development Centers (EDCs):

• Till date Ministry of MSME has set up 102 EDCs across India.

• The main aim of these centers is to build a network of entrepreneurial leaders by providing professional mentoring and handholding support services to existing as well as aspiring MSMEs with special focus on rural enterprises on continuous basis.

About the Ministry of MSME:

• MSME is an acronym for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

• It is a branch of the Government of India (GoI).

• It is the apex executive body for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws relating to micro, small and medium enterprises in India.

• It was founded in 2007.

• The Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries and Ministry of Small Scale Industries (SSI) were merged into a single Ministry, namely, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

• The current Union Minister of MSME is Narayan Tatu Rane (Rajya Sabha-Maharashtra) and Minister of State is Bhanu Pratap singh Verma(Constituency-Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh)

Thematic POSHAN Maah: As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development have planned to organize and celebrate Thematic POSHAN Maah throughout the month of September 2021.

Key Points:

• The entire month of September will be sub-divided into weekly themes for a focused and assimilated approach towards improving Holistic Nutrition.

• The weekly themes are as follows:

1. The weekly theme for the activities to be taken up from 1st to 7th September is – Plantation Activity as “PoshanVatika.

2. The theme for 8th to 15th September week is Yoga and AYUSH for Nutrition while

3. The theme for the thrd week is- Distribution of ‘Regional Nutrition Kit’ to Anganwadi beneficiaries of High Burdened Districts.

4. The theme for the 4th week 24th to 30 September has been named as Identification of severely acute malnourished children and distribution of nutritious food.

About Poshan Abhyaan:

• The POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan is the flagship programme of government of India to improve nutritional outcomes for pregnant women, lactating mother, children and adolescent Girls.

• The POSHAN Abhiyaan, also known as National Nutrition Mission was launched by PM Narendra Modi on March 8, 2018, on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Rajasthan.

Jan Andolan:

• POSHAN Abhiyaan is a People’s Movement or a Jan Andolan that incorporates inclusive participation from government bodies, local bodies of states or UTs, social organizations, private sector, and the public at large.

Aim:

• This initiative aims to make India a malnutrition-free country by 2022.

• It aims to reduce stunting in children from 38.4 percent to 25 percent by 2022.

• The Budget 2021-2022 included the announcement of Mission POSHAN 2.0 (Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0) as an integrated nutrition support programme.

• The mission POSHAN 2.0 focuses on strengthening nutritional content, outreach, delivery, and outcomes by developing practices that improve health, wellness, and immune response to disease and malnutrition.

World Coconut Day 2021: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) celebrated World Coconut Day on 2nd September 2021 to commemorate the foundation day of the International Coconut Community.

Note: International Coconut community is an inter-governmental organization of coconut producing countries under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UN-ESCAP.

• The function was also addressed by the Ministers of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje and Kailash Choudhary and Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal.

• The theme for the 23rd World Coconut Day celebrations for 2021 is Building a safe, inclusive resilient and sustainable coconut community amid COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

About World Coconut Day:

• Every year, September 2, 2021, is observed as World Coconut Day.

• This day is celebrated to emphasize and raise awareness about the importance as well as benefits of coconuts.

• Coconut Development Board celebrates Coconut Day every year to create increased awareness on the importance of coconut and focus national and international attention on coconut sector.

History:

• This day started in 2009, on the day when the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) was founded.

About APCC:

• APCC is an intergovernmental organization that supervises and facilitates Asian-pacific states that produce coconuts.

• The APCC is headquartered at Jakarta, Indonesia.

Coconut production in India:

• India currently is the third largest coconut producer with Indonesia at the top.

• In India, states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Goa, West Bengal, etc. are the major producers of coconut.

About Coconut:

• Coconut is one of the most loved and versatile fruits.

• It belongs to the drupe family.

• It is a fleshy fruit that has been planting in tropical regions.

• It is not just edible, but you can also use its oil for skin benefits.

• A rich source of electrolytes and lauric acid, coconuts contain many antioxidants and antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antiviral.

• They are produced in more than 80 countries around the world.

About MoA&FW:

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW) is a branch of the Government of India (GoI).

• It is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws related to agriculture in India.

• The three broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation.

• It was formed in 1947 and is headquartered in New Delhi.

• Currently the agriculture ministry is headed by Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is Shri Kailash Choudhary.

National Teachers' Awards: President Ram Nath Kovind on September 5, 2021 conferred the National Teachers' Awards upon 44 teachers from across the country for their contribution to developing innovative methods of teaching.

• The national-level awards are given on Teachers' Day to celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country and to honour those who, through their commitment, have not only improved the quality of school education but also enriched the lives of their students.

Key Details:

• This year, online self-nomination process was followed by a three-tier selection process at district, state and national level.

• A documentary film on each of the 44 awardee teachers was also shown during the virtual award ceremony.

• The National Education Policy (NEP), which was implemented in 2020, has set an ambitious objective of establishing India as a global knowledge superpower.

Note: The Education Ministry has started an integrated teachers’ training programme called ‘Nishtha’ under which efforts are being made for ‘Online Capacity Building’ for teachers.

• On this occasion, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also conferred AICTE- Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Award on 17 faculty members in Engineering and Technology at a function in New Delhi.

• Three faculty members were awarded the AICTE-Dr. Pritam Singh Best Teacher Award in Management Education.

• The Minister also conferred Chhatra Vishwakarma Award and Clean and Smart Campus Award, 2020 to the selected institutions.

Awardees for 2021:

• Two teachers from Delhi’s Bal Bharati Public School, Dwarka and Rajasthan’s Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Jhunjhunu received the awards from amongst those working in CBSE schools.

• There were two awardees each from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Maharashtra, Assam, Sikkim, Odisha, Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

• A teacher from Karpawand, Bastar is also among awardees.

About the award:

• The National Awards to Teachers were first instituted in 1958 to recognize the excellence and commitment of teachers in shaping the minds as well as the future of the youth.

• From the mid-60s onwards, September 5 came to be the fixed date for the function on account of the birthday of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, former president of India and an eminent educationist.

• The awards accord public recognition to meritorious teachers working in elementary and secondary schools.

About Teachers Day:

• Every year on September 5, India celebrates National Teachers' Day to mark the birth anniversary of India's first Vice President and second President, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

• He was a renowned philosopher, scholar, teacher and politician. His contribution to shaping India’s education is immense.

• It is a day to honour, recognize and celebrate the teachers in our lives and express our gratitude for their guidance and influence.

National Teacher's Day: Every year on September 5, India celebrates National Teachers' Day to mark the birth anniversary of India's first Vice President and second President, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

• He was a renowned philosopher, scholar, teacher and politician. His contribution to shaping India’s education is immense.

• It is a day to honour, recognize and celebrate the teachers in our lives and express our gratitude for their guidance and influence.

Teachers'Day 2021:

• President Ram Nath Kovind on 5th September 2021 presented National Awards to 44 teachers from all over the country.

• On this occasion, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also conferred AICTE- Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Award on 17 faculty members in Engineering and Technology at a function in New Delhi.

• Three faculty members were awarded the AICTE-Dr. Pritam Singh Best Teacher Award in Management Education.

• The Minister also conferred Chhatra Vishwakarma Award and Clean and Smart Campus Award, 2020 to the selected institutions.

History of Teacher's Day:

• Teachers' Day is marked on the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

• In 1962, when he took the office of the President of India, his students approached him to seek permission to celebrate September 5 as a special day.

• He instead asked them to observe this day as Teacher's Day, to recognize the contribution of teachers to society.

• Ever since, Teacher's Day has been celebrated across schools, colleges, universities and educational institutions.

Significance of this day:

• The day holds significance, as students across all educational institutions show gratitude and honour to all their teachers and mentors.

• Teachers are also recognized for their unspoken contribution to the development of society. Schools also pay tribute to Dr Radhakrishnan.

When is world Teacher's Day?

• World Teachers’ Day is held annually on October 5 since the first observation way back in 1994.

History of World Teachers' Day:

• This holiday marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

• It sets standards regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers for their initial preparation, further education, recruitment, employment, and learning conditions.

Karbi Anglong Agreement: The centre, on September 4, 2021, signed a tripartite agreement- "Karbi Anglong Agreement” with representatives of Karbi outfits in New Delhi promising to fulfill all the conditions for development of the Karbi people within the stipulated time.

Key Highlights:

• The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

• The historic agreement was signed by a delegation of six Karbi group members including -

1. Karbi People's Liberation Tigers (R),

2. Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF),

3. Karbi People's Liberation Tigers (Ceasefire),

4. People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK),

5. United Peoples Liberation Army (UPLA) and

6. Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT).

• A total of 1,040 militants of five militant groups had surrendered along with their weapons during an event at Guwahati in Assam on February 25.

• The Karbi Anglong Agreement is another milestone in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “insurgency-free prosperous North East”.

Key Points:

Under the agreement, the Assam Government has agreed to the following:

• To invest ₹1,000 crore by the Assam government for development of the Karbi Anglong area in the next five years.

• To provide reservation for the people of Karbi for the first time.

• To rehabilitate the surrendered militants.

• To set up of Karbi Welfare Council by the Assam government.

• To supplement resources of Karbi Autonomous Council by augmenting consolidated fund of the state, along with protection of their language and culture etc.

• Consider favorably the proposal of KAAC to notify Karbi as the official language of KAAC. However English, Hindi & Assamese will continue to be used for official purposes.

• In return, all signatory armed groups shall abjure the path of violence, disband their organizations and surrender their weapons within one month of signing of the Agreement.

• All camps occupied by these groups will also be vacated forthwith.

Significance of Karbi Anglong Agreement:

• Located in central Assam, Karbi Anglong is the state’s largest district and a melting pot of ethnicities and tribal groups — Karbi, Dimasa, Bodo, Kuki, Hmar, Tiwa, Garo, Man (Tai speakers), Rengma Naga.

• The Karbis are dotted by many factions, and marked by ethnic violence, killings, abductions, taxation since the late 1980s that did not allow the region to develop.

• The agreement hopes to bring an end to this violence and establish peace in the state.

Background:

• Apart from the Bodoland movement and the one led by ULFA for a sovereign Assam, the Karbi insurgency — for a separate state of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills — is one of the several insurgencies that Assam has faced over the years.

• In February, ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, over 1040 insurgents belonging to five militant outfits of the Karbi Anglong autonomous district had surrendered to the Assam Government.

• The current accord is a result of negotiations with the five groups since then.

Who are Karbis?

• Karbis is a major ethnic community of Assam, which is presently splintered into various groups and factions.

• Originally, they are one of Northeast India’s tribal groups, largely inhabiting the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar) hills districts.

Note: The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, which is protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

People In News

AANS Award: Odisha-born neurosurgeon Dr Basant Kumar Misra has recently been conferred the prestigious American Association of Neurological Surgeons’ ‘International Lifetime Achievement Award in Neurosurgery’.

Key Highlights:

• Misra is the first Indian physician to receive the AANS honor.

• This prestigious award was conferred on him at a virtual ceremony during the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting 2021 held in Orlando, Florida.

• He was the world’s first surgeon to perform Computer-Guided Aneurysm surgery.

About the Dr Basant Kumar Misra:

• Dr Basant Kumar Misra completed his MBBS from VIMSAR, Burla.

• He received a Master of Surgery from Delhi University in 1980 and MCh Neurosurgery from AIIMS New Delhi in 1983.

• He is the chief of surgery, head of the department of neurosurgery, and Gamma knife radiosurgery, PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai.

• He is president of the Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgeons and the World Federation of Skull Base Societies.

• He is also first vice president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.

• He is also the recipient of the most prestigious Dr BC Roy National Award in the category of ‘Eminent Medical Person’ (Highest Medical Award in India) in 2018.

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021: The Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 awardees have been announced.

Highlights:

• Ramon Magsaysay Awards 2021 will be conferred to five people who have made selfless and extraordinary contributions to the eradication of poverty and the development of the society in Asia.

• The winners will be formally awarded the Magsaysay Award during the November 28 event at the Ramon Magsaysay Centre in Manila.

• The Ramon Magsaysay Award which is also known as Asia’s Nobel Prize was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 Winners:

Dr. Firdausi Qadri:

• She is a senior scientist at the Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology Unit at the Infectious Diseases Division of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Bangladesh.

• She has been selected for her commitment in vaccine development that saved millions of lives.

Muhammad Amjad Saqib:

• He is a visionary who founded one of the largest microfinance institutions in Pakistan, servicing millions of families.

• He has been has been chosen for his outstanding efforts in restoring human dignity, alleviating poverty and helping over 3 million families to come out of poverty through zero-interest lending model.

Steven Muncy:

• He is a 64 year old humanitarian worker who has been helping the displaced refugees of Southeast Asia rebuild their lives.

• He has been chosen for the prestigious Award in recognition of his lifelong dedication to humanitarian work, refugee assistance and peace building and unstinting pursuit of dignity, peace and harmony for people in exceptionally difficult circumstances in Asia.

• Muncy is the founder of Community and Family Services International (CFSI) who has been living outside his own country for more than four decades, working in a difficult environment in Asia.

Roberto Ballon:

• Roberto Ballon is a Filipino fisher is a fisherman from Southern Philippines who has led a community in restoring their rich aquatic resources and their primary source of livelihood.

• The Filipino awardee dedicated his award to his fellow fisherfolk.

WatchDoc:

• Watchdoc is a production house that ingeniously combines documentary filmmaking and alternative platforms to highlight underreported issues in Indonesia.

• It has been recognized for its highly principled crusade for an independent media organization and its energetic use of investigative journalism, documentary filmmaking and digital technology to transform Indonesia’s media landscape.

About the Ramon Magsaysay Award:

• The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award, which is also known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

• The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

• The award was established in 1957 as an annual award in memory of the third president of the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay.

• It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine president and is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

• The award was established by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government.

• The annual award is presented every year on August 31st, on the birth anniversary of Magsaysay.

Appointments:

Dorje Angchuk: Dorje Angchuk recently became an honorary member among 11 new honorary members inducted to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Highlights:

• He is an Engineer in charge at the Indian Astronomical Observatory of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle in the Ladakh region,

• Angchuk is the first and only Indian to bag the position in the prestigious body.

• He has been selected for ‘his passionate promotion of astronomy in the Ladakh region, through his excellent astrophotography’.

• He will be joining ten other Honorary Members from around the world, selected by IAU to join a select list of 20 international experts.

About the honorary member of the IAU:

• The IAU membership category was introduced at the 30th General Assembly, held in August 2018 in Vienna.

• Its Honorary Members gives official recognition to individuals who have significantly contributed to the progress of astronomical research and culture in their country, but who do not qualify as Individual Members.

About IIA:

• The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI).

• It was established in 1971.

• IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of astronomy, astrophysics and related fields.

• It is headquartered in Bengaluru.

About IAU:

• The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation.

• It was founded in 1919.

• It is headquartered in Paris, France.

Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra: He is an Indian Revenue Service officer who has been appointed as the new Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

Highlights:

• His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

• Mohapatra, a 1985 batch officer is currently working as a Member of CBDT.

• He was given the additional charge as CBDT chairman after the tenure of incumbent PC Mody ended this year in May.

• Mohapatra had earlier served as the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region.

About CBDT:

• It is an acronym of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

• CBDT was established in 1924.

• It is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.

• The officials of the Board in their ex-officio capacity also function as a Division of the Ministry dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes.

• It functions as a division of the Ministry of Finance under the Department of Revenue. Its functions include formulation of policies, dealing with natters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes, and supervision of the functioning of the entire Income Tax Department.

• The CBDT is headed by a chairman and can have six members.

• All of these officers are in the rank of special secretary.

Gauri Lankesh: The Canadian city of Burnaby recently declared September 5 as “Gauri Lankesh Day”.

Key Points:

• The day has been declared as Gauri Lankesh Day as a tribute to the dead journalist on her death anniversary.

• Mike Hurley, the Mayor of Burnaby city in British Columbia, signed a proclamation to this effect on August 30.

• The proclamation stated that she was a courageous Indian journalist who stood up for truth and justice, challenged superstition and social ills, and dedicated her life to serving the poor and oppressed.

• She was a left-leaning journalist who brought out a magazine “Gauri Lankesh Patrike”.

• She was shot dead by two assailants on September 5, 2017 evening just outside her house in Bengaluru allegedly for her anti-Hindutva stand.

• 55 year old Gauri Lankesh through her work encouraged her readers to adopt scientific temperament and reject religious fanaticism and caste-based discrimination and bigotry.

Note:

• Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing an appeal by Kavita Lankesh (sister of Gauri Lankesh) challenging a Karnataka High Court order which quashed the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act (KCOCA) against one of the accused.

• Accused slapped with the KCOCA find it hard to get bail.

Orbituary:

Chandan Mitra: Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Chandan Mitra has passed away.

About:

• Mitra was the Editor and Managing Director of The Pioneer newspaper in New Delhi.

• He was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha from August 2003 to 2009.

• In June 2010, Mitra was elected to another term in the Rajya Sabha by BJP from Madhya Pradesh (MP).

• His term ended in 2016.

• In July 2018, he resigned from the BJP and joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Buddhadeb Guha: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi recently expressed deep grief over the passing away of eminent writer, Shri Buddhadeb Guha.

About Buddhadeb Guha:

• Buddhadeb Guha (29 June 1936 – 29 August 2021) was an Indian writer of fiction in Bengali language.

• His early life is depicted in his Rivu series.

• Some of the Rivu books are dedicated to friends from his youth.

• He was also the creator of Rijuda, an imaginary character who explores jungles mainly of Eastern India with his sidekick Rudra.

• In 1976, he was awarded the Ananda Puraskar.

Places In News

Ladakh's State animal and State bird: The Union Territory of Ladakh has declared snow leopard as the new state animal and black-necked crane as the new state bird, two years after it was carved out as a separate Union Territory (UT) from the erstwhile State of J&K.

Key Points:

• The notification in this regard was released by Shri Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh on August 31, 2021.

• The decision was taken keeping in view bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh into separate administrative divisions in 2019.

About Snow Leopard:

• The snow leopard (Panther unica), whose numbers are dwindling wordwide is also known as Ghost of the mountains

• It has been categorized as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

• They are positioned as the top predator in the food web.

• It acts as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live.

• In total, there are about 7,500 snow leopards left in the world, out of which 500 are in India.

• They are found in the Higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan landscape in J&K, Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Snow Leopard’s capital of the world is Hemis, Ladakh.

• The existence of these animals is threatened because of reduction in prey populations, illegal poaching and increased human population infiltration into the species habitat and illegal trade of wildlife parts and products.

About Black-necked cranes:

• Black-necked cranes (Grus nicricollis), considered loyal couples, are only found in Ladakh’s Changthang region in India.

• It is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Note: It was the State bird of J&K before August 5, 2019.

About Ladakh:

• Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory, and constituting a part of the larger region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947.

• Until 2019, Ladakh was a region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

• In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed an act by which Ladakh became a union territory on 31 October 2019.

• The capital of Ladakh is Leh, Kargil.

• The current Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh is Radha Krishna Mathur.

World's Highest Motorable Road: Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, on August 31, 2021 inaugurated the world’s highest motorable road connecting Leh to the Pangong Lake in Leh.

Key Highlights:

• This is a strategically important road.

• It is constructed by the 58 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army.

• The road will reduce 41-km of travel from Leh (Zingral to Tangtse) to the picturesque Pangong Lake crossing the Kela Pass.

• The road stretches through the Kela Pass at an altitude of 18,600 feet.

• Till now, the Khardung La Pass at 18,380 feet was the highest motorable pass in the world.

Significance of the road:

• This road will play a significant role in boosting the socio-economic status of local residents, primarily for the people of Lalok region of Ladakh in future.

• It will facilitate tourism and tourists will see world’s highest motorable road, rare medicinal plants, participate in snow sport activities etc.

About Leh:

• Leh is the joint capital and largest town of the union territory of Ladakh in India.

• It is one among the two districts of Ladakh.

• The town is located in the valley of the upper Indus River at an elevation of 11,550 feet (3,520 metres).

• It is surrounded by the towering peaks of the Ladakh Range (a southeastern extension of the Karakoram Range).

• An old palace of the kings of Ladakh and the Sankar monastery overlook the town.

About Pangong Tso:

• Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet.

• It is situated at an elevation of 4,225 m (13,862 ft).

• The lake is 134 km long and divided into five sub lakes namely, Pangong Tso, Rum Tso (twin lakes), Tso Nyak, and Nyak Tso.

• 50% of the length of overall lake in located in Tibet China and 40% in Ladakh India while the rest of the 10% of the lake is disputed and is considered as de-facto buffer zone between India and China.

• This lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point.

• It freezes completely during winter, despite being saline water.

Note: Currently, the lake is in the process of being identified under Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance and will be the first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia under the Ramsar convention.

‘Innovation Mission Punjab’ (IMPunjab): The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri Amarinder Singh recently launched ‘Innovation Mission Punjab’ (IMPunjab).

Key Highlights:

• IMPunjab is a public-private partnership that brings in global investors and experts to catalyze start ups.

• The mission is a unique public-private partnership, championed by the private sector with strong government backing.

• This Mission will boost the growth potential of Punjab and create a thriving economy by means of generating jobs and inviting investment.

• The mission will also mobilize a global pool of ambassadors and partners to attract investment, mentorship and market access.

• The mission would also leverage the strength of the Punjabi diaspora, allowing them to partake in this renewed growth story of Punjab.

• The Mission will act as a catalyst towards strengthening the growth by rallying all the stakeholders like incubators, academia, investors, startups, progressive farmers, government, sports people, media, industry and corporate.

About the Mission:

• The Mission is a unique public-private partnership, championed by the private sector with strong government backing.

• The Department of Agriculture, Industries & Commerce, Mandi Board and Startup Punjab are the partners in this mission.

• They are providing over Rs. 30 crores in cash and kind which also includes the following:

1. Operating expenses for the first three years,

2. 10-year rent-free lease for 12,000 square feet at Kalkat Bhavan and

3. Support to start-ups & incubators in Punjab.

• The Mission stands firmly on three pillars namely pollinator- to create a network of virtual incubators and organize events such as bootcamps, ideathons, pitch days to create a vibrant startup ecosystem.

Is Punjab- an entrepreneurial state?

• Yes, Punjab is an entrepreneurial State, having a strong footprint of entrepreneurs worldwide as well as in India.

• The state has a burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem comprising of 450 start-ups and 20 plus incubators.

About Punjab:

• Punjab is a state in northern India.

• It is bounded by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west.

• Punjab in its present form came into existence on 1 November 1966.

• The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

• Punjab means "The Land of Five Waters", which are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas.

• The current Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab are Captain Amarinder Singh and V.P.Singh Badnore respectively.

Saath Initiative: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, on september 1, 2021, launched the Rural Enterprises Acceleration Programme called ‘Saath’ for Self Help Group (SHG) women.

Key Points:

• Saath initiative will help about 48000 SHGs in which about four lakh women are connected, in Jammu and Kashmir.

• It will focus on mentoring and market linkages of products that created by these women.

• The Indian Government also aims to create 11000 More SHGs in the upcoming years.

• It will transform the lives of the women and make them independent and strong to deal with social and financial sectors.

• This programme was launched in line with the Umeed scheme that enabled women to start their business.

Aim:

• Saath initiative was launched with the aim of transforming the lives of rural women associated with SHGs.

• It is aimed at accelerating livelihoods of rural women who are engaged in small works.

• Small works are those where they do not earn much profit and there is lack of knowledge about marketing, packaging and branding.

• This initiative is also aimed at teaching women all skills and converts their small businesses into Higher Order Enterprises.

• It seeks to turn women into job-givers and produce further employment.

Significance:

• Under this initiative, workshops will be held for 5000 women initially.

• Out of 5000, 500 will be selected for intensive training and 100 will be selected for mentoring.

• The programme will guide the women in every aspect like packaging, marketing, branding, finance, skills so that they can uplift their businesses.

• Women will be trained in the sectors like Agriculture, Poultry, Animal Husbandry, handloom, and handicraft, and many others.

About Jammu and Kashmir:

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K ) is a region administered by India as a Union Territory.

• It was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1954 to 2019.

• The current Lieutenant Governor of J&K is Former Union minister and BJP leader Manoj Sinha

Science and Technology

GSITI's 24x7 Website: The Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI), Hyderaba, has recently launched its 24×7 website (https://training.gsiti.gsi.gov.in/) for round-the-clock accessibility of various online training courses on Earth Sciences to its stakeholders.

Note: GSITI is the training and capacity building wing of the Geological Survey of India (GSI)under the Ministry of Mines.

• This is in tune with the Digital India Campaign of the Government of India.

About Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI):

• The GSITI is the third oldest survey organization in the World.

• It promotes capacity building by turning out thorough-bred professionals, specialists and fundamental researchers in all fields of Geosciences and allied areas both within the department and outside.

• It was established in 1976.

• GSITI has expanded its operation across different geological terrains of the country by diversifying its activities over last three decades by establishing Field Training Centers (FTC), and in the process has shifted its Headquarters (HQ) to Hyderabad.

• Hyderabad Centre, with a full-fledged campus of its own, is designated as headquarters for all other eight centres.

• Over the last 45 years, GSITI has expanded to nine (09) training sites of GSITI located at Hyderabad, Nagpur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Shillong, Raipur, Zawar (Rajasthan), Chitradurga (Karnataka), and Kuju (Jharkhand).

Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently conducted a hot test on its Gaganyaan Service Module (SM) Propulsion System.

Key Points:

• The test was conducted in the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.

• This was the first hot test of the System Demonstration Model (SDM) of the Gaganyaan SM Propulsion System which differs from the hot test the agency conducted on the Vikas engine.

• The test was conducted for duration of 450 seconds.

• The system performance was successful in meeting the test objectives and matched the pre-test predictions.

• ISRO has Further plans to a series of hot tests are planned to simulate various mission conditions as well as off-nominal conditions.

About Service Module (SM):

• The Service Module (SM) is part of the Gaganyaan Orbital module.

• It is located below the crew module and remains connected to it until re-entry.

• The SM Propulsion System consists of a unified bipropellant system consisting of five numbers of 440 N thrust engines and 16 numbers of 100 N Reaction Control systems (RCS) thrusters with MON-3 and MMH as Oxidizer and Fuel respectively.

• The SDM, consisting of five numbers of 440 N engines and eight numbers of 100 N thrusters, was realised to qualify the propulsion system performance in ground.

A new test facility is established at IPRC, Mahendragiri for testing the SDM

About Gaganyaan Mission:

• The Gaganyaan Mission is an ambitious space programme by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

• This mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2018 during his Independence Day speech.

• The mission aims to send India’s first human spaceflight mission.

• As a part of the programme, four Indian astronaut-candidates have undergone generic space flight training in Russia.

• Human Space Flight Centre which functions under ISRO is responsible for the implementation of this mission.

• With the success of the Gaganyaan mission, India will become the 4th nation to launch a crewed mission into space after USSR/Russia, the US, and China.

Tests conducted by ISRO:

• ISRO on July 14, 2021, successfully conducted the third long-duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the GSLV MkIII launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan Mission.

• Before sending humans on the spacecraft under the mission, ISRO will send two uncrewed GSLV-Mk III rockets into space.

GSLV-Mk III Rockets:

• The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mk III) will be used as the launch vehicle.

• It consists of a service module and a crew module.

• The service module is known as the Orbital Module which will be powered by two liquid-propellant engines.

About ISRO:

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is the space agency of the Government of India (GoI) and was formed in 15 august 1969.

• It superseded the erstwhile “Indian National Committee For Space Research” (INCOSPAR) which was established in 1962 by the efforts of Independent India's first prime minister‚ Jawaharlal Nehru‚ and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai.

• In 1972, the GoI had set up a Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS), bringing ISRO under the DOS.

• ISRO then embarked on its mission to provide the Nation space based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same independently.

• Its vision is to “harness space technology for natural development while pursuing space science research & planetary exploration”.

• ISRO built India’s first Satellite Aryabhata.

• It is headquartered in Bangalore, India.

• The current Chairman of ISRO is K sivan.

Scrub Typhus: A mystery fever was recently reported from parts of Uttar Pradesh which claimed about 40 lives, mostly children in one week.

Key highlights:

• This viral fever was identified as Scrub typhus.

• Scrub typhus was reported mainly from Firozabad, Agra, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj districts of Uttar Pradesh.

About Scrub typhus:

• Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is a disease caused by a bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia tsutsugamushi).

Note: The name of the bacterium is of Japanese origin. The word “tsutsuga” means illness and “mushi” means insect.

• Scrub typhus is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).

• Bite marks are found on the armpit, genitalia or neck.

• It is a rare zoonotic disease (which can be transmitted from animals to humans) with symptoms similar to any viral fever.

• Doxycycline, an antibiotic, is the most common drug used for its treatment.

Symptoms of scrub typhus:

• Symptoms of scrub typhus usually begin within 10 days of being bitten.

• Signs and symptoms may include:

1. Fever and chills

2. Headache

3. Body aches and muscle pain

4. A dark, scab-like region at the site of the chigger bite (also known as eschar)

5. Mental changes, ranging from confusion to coma

6. Enlarged lymph nodes

7. Rash

In complicated cases, it could lead to pneumonia, meningo-encephalitis, gastro-intestinal bleeding, acute renal failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which can be fatal if left untreated.

Is scrub typhus curable?

• According to the doctors, this disease is curable using antibiotics, but it can get out of hand when diagnosis is delayed.

History:

• This disease has been named “scrub” after the type of vegetation that harbours the vector.

Note: Typhus is a Greek word meaning “fever with stupor” or smoke.

• This disease took the form of an epidemic during World War II in some countries while during the Second World War; it emerged as the most dreaded disease among soldiers of the Far East.

• In India, this fever broke out in an epidemic form during Second World War in West Bengal and Assam.

Different types of Typhus:

Typhus is a group of bacterial infectious diseases that include Scrub typhus, Epidemic typhus, and Murine typhus.

1. Scrub typhus is due to Orientia tsutsugamushi spread by chiggers.

2. Epidemic typhus is due to Rickettsia prowazekii spread by body lice.

3. Murine typhus is due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas.

Ubreathe Life: Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Ropar and Kanpur and Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University have jointly launched a living-plant based air purifier named “Ubreathe Life”.

Key Highlights:

• Ubreathe Life is a living plant-based smart air-purifier that amplifies the air purification process in indoor spaces like hospitals, schools, offices or homes.

• This product which has been developed by Urban Air Laboratory, a start-up company of IIT Ropar is being claimed as world’s first, state-of-the-art ‘Smart Bio-Filter’, which can make breathing fresh.

Note: IIT Ropar is a designated iHub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of Government of India (GoI).

How does Ubreathe Life work?

• The technology works through the air-purifying natural leafy plant.

• The room air interacts with leaves and goes to the soil-root zone where maximum pollutants are purified.

• The technology used in this product is the ‘Urban Munnar Effect’ along with patent-pending “Breathing Roots” to exponentially amplify the phytoremediation process of the plants.

What is Phytoremediation Process?

• Phytoremediation is a process by which plants effectively remove pollutants from the air.

Features and Significance:

• The air purifier ‘Ubreathe Life’ effectively improves indoor air quality by removing particulate, gaseous, and biological contaminants while increasing the oxygen levels in the indoor space through specific plants, UV disinfection and a stack of Pre-filter, Charcoal filter.

• It also comprises HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter which is fitted in a specially designed wooden box.

• It creates a suction pressure inside the purifier and releases purified air.

• The company has claimed that the specific plants tested for air-purification include Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Spider plant etc. and all have given good results in purifying indoor-air.

China's Prototype Miniature Helicopter: China has recently developed a prototype miniature helicopter for surveillance work on future Mars missions, following the historic landing of a robotic rover on the red planet a few months ago.

Key Details:

• The prototype helicopter is similar to the robotic helicopter Ingenuity in appearance, which was developed by NASA for its Perseverance mission.

• Chinese prototype helicopter also comprise of two rotor blades, a sensor & camera base and four thin legs. However, it does not comprise of solar panel at the top like in Ingenuity.

• China has planned its first crewed mission to the Mars in 2033.

Background:

• China landed a Mars rover in May in its first-ever mission to the planet, becoming the second country after the United States to do so.

• NASA's most advanced rover, Perseverance, landed on the planet in February.

Perseverance Mission:

• NASA's rover, Ingenuity made its inaugural flight in April, rising about 3 metres above the surface.

• This was humankind’s first successful deployment of a powered aircraft in a world other than Earth.

• The challenge for the 1.8 kg (4 pounds) Ingenuity was the planet's thin atmosphere, which is just 1% as dense as Earth's.

• To compensate for the lack of aerodynamic lift, Ingenuity was equipped with rotor blades that are larger (1.2 metres tip to tip) and spin more rapidly than for an aircraft of its size on Earth.

Sports

Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Shooter Avani Lekhara created sporting history after becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal.

Key Highlights:

• The 19-year-old from Jaipur, clinched gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event on 30 August 2021.

• She won the gold medal with a total score of 249.6 in the final.

• She equalled Iryna Shchetnik's world record that was set in 2018.

• Cuiping Zhang of China won silver medal with a score of 248.9 while Iryna Shchetnik won the bronze medal with a score of 227.5.

• She qualified for the final finishing 7th in the qualification round with a total score of 621.7.

• Lekhara became the fourth Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Paralympics after swimmer Murlikant Petkar in 1972, javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia in 2004 and 2016 and high jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan in 2016.

Note: In the SH1 Rifle category, shooters are able to hold a gun with arms.

The athletes have impairment in their legs, for example amputations or paraplegia.

Some athletes will compete in a seated position, while others will compete in a standing position.

Athletics:

• In yet another proud moment for India, discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya clinched silver in the final F56 category.

• Yogesh came up with the best attempt of 44.38m to finish at the 2nd spot.

• Brazil’s defending champion, reigning world champion and world record holder Claudiney Batista dos Santos won the gold with a best throw of 45.59m while Leonardo Diaz Aldana (43.36m) of Cuba took the bronze.

Note: In F56 classification, athletes have full arm and trunk muscle power.

Pelvic stability is provided by some to full ability to press the knees together.

India’s Medal Tally:

• India has won 19 medals so far across all 11 editions of Tokyo Paralympics Games since 1960.

• It comprises of 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze.

About Avani Lekhara:

• Avani Lekhara, born on November 8, 2001, is an Indian Paralympic athlete of the shooting event.

• She suffered Traumatic Paraplegia caused by an accident in 2012.

• She has been currently ranked at World No. 5 in Women’s 10m Air Rifle standing (SH1). She competed in the 2018 Asian Para Games and has been getting support by GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.

• She got inspired after reading the autobiography of Olympic gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, so she pursued shooting.

About Yogesh Kathuniya:

• He is a son of an Army man.

• Kathuniya suffered a paralytic attack at the age of eight which left him with coordination impairments in his limbs.

• He created a world record in F36 category in his first ever international competition in 2018 at the Para-athletics Grand Prix in Berlin.

• He won a bronze medal in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai with a best throw of 42.51m which also booked him a Tokyo berth.

India at Paralympics 2020- Sumit Antil: Debutant Sumit Antil smashed his own world record multiple times for the F64 class gold at the Paralympics here on 30 August 2021.

Key Highlights:

• Antil set a new world record on his way to a gold medal hurling the spear to 68.55 metres.

• He bettered the previous world record of 62.88m, also set by him, five times on the day. His series read 66.95, 68.08, 65.27, 66.71, 68.55 and foul.

• Sumit's gold took India's medal tally to 7 at Tokyo Paralympics.

• Australian Michal Burian (66.29m) and Sri Lanka''s Dulan Kodithuwakku (65.61m) took the silver and bronze respectively.

• The F64 category is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position.

About Sumit Antil:

• Sumit Antil is a student of Delhi's Ramjas College.

• He was an able-bodied wrestler

• The 23-year-old from Sonipat, who lost his left leg below the knee after he was involved in a motorbike accident in 2005, participated in able-bodied javelin throw till 2015 before taking a break.

• On comeback in 2018, he started participating in para-sports and immediately made an impact, winning silver in the 2019 World Championships in Dubai.

Golden moment for India at the Paralympics:

• Earlier, Shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.

• Veteran Devendra Jhajharia's F46 category silver cemented his status of being India's greatest para-athlete as javelin throwers led the country's track-and-field medal rush at the Paralympics.

• Another javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar picked up bronze in Jhajharia's event, while discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya's F56 silver ensured that India made its presence felt across the podium and through the day.

Tokyo Paralympics- Praveen Kumar: On 3 September 2021, Indian Para-athlete Praveen Kumar bagged the silver medal in Men’s High Jump T64 event.

Key Highlights:

• Praveen jumped 2.07 metre while Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards took the gold with a season-best of 2.10 metre in the event.

• With the win, India’s medal tally at Tokyo Paralympics has risen to 11 with two Gold medals, six Silver and three Bronze medals.

• In Badminton, Shuttler Suhas Yathiraj, Tarun Dhillon and Manoj Sarkar have won their respective Group matches of Men’s Singles.

• While Yathiraj defeated Susanto Hary of Indonesia 21-6, 21-12 in group B encounter of SL4 event.

• Dhillon overcame South Korea’s Hwan Kyung Shin 21-18, 15-21, 21-17 in another group B match of SL4 event.

• Sarkar defeated Oleksandr Chyrkov of Ukraine 21-16, 21-9 in Group A match of SL3 Category.

• In Archery, Harvinder Singh has booked his spot in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Individual Recurve event while Vivek Chikara will be in action in elimination round of the same event.

• Prachi Yadav, who became the first Indian to qualify for the Paralympics in Canoe Sprint has finished 8th in the finals of Women’s VL2 200 metre event.

• In Shooting, Avani Lekhara has qualified for the Women’s 50 metre rifle 3 positions SH1 event.

• Para athelets Kashish Lakra and Ekta Bhyan will be taking part in the finals of Women’s Club Throw F51 and Soman Rana in finals of Men’s Shot Put F57 later in the day.

India at Tokyo Paralympics 2020: India finished their campaign at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 with an all-time high of 19 medals.

Highlights:

• The medals include five gold, eight silver, and six bronze.

• This is the best medal tally for India a single edition of the Paralympic Games.

• India is placed at 24th position in the overall medal tally out of a total of 162 nations.

Indian Flag Bearers:

• Javelin thrower Tek Chand was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics while Shooter Avani Lekhara was India’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.

India at Paralympics 2020:

• India sent it’s biggest ever contingent of 54 para-athletes at Tokyo Paralympics to compete across as many as 9 sporting disciplines at the Games.

• The Indian theme song of Paralympics 2020 “Kar de kamaal tu”.

• The composer and singer of the song is Sanjeev Singh, a Divyang cricket player from Lucknow.

Background:

• Prior to this, India had won a total of 12 Paralympics medals, since making its first appearance at the Paralympics in 1968, till the 2016 Rio.

List of Indian medallists winners of Tokyo Paralympics 2020:

Gold:

• Shooting: Avani Lekhara (Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing)

• Shooting: Manish Narwal (Mixed 50m Pistol)

• Athletics: Sumit Antil (Men’s Javelin Throw)

• Badminton: Pramod Bhagat (Men’s Singles)

• Badminton: Krishna Nagar (Men’s Singles)

Silver:

• Badminton: Suhas Yathiraj (Men’s Singles)

• Shooting: Singhraj Adhana (Mixed 50m Pistol)

• Table Tennis: Bhavina Patel (Women’s Singles)

• Athletics: Yogesh Kathuniya (Men’s Discus Throw)

• Athletics: Nishad Kumar (Men’s High Jump)

• Athletics: Mariyappan Thangavelu (Men’s High Jump)

• Athletics: Praveen Kumar (Men’s High Jump)

• Athletics: Devendra Jhajharia (Men’s Javelin Throw)

Bronze:

• Shooting: Singhraj Adhana (Men’s 10m Air Pistol)

• Shooting: Avani Lekhara (Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions)

• Archery: Harvinder Singh (Men’s Individual Recurve)

• Athletics: Sharad Kumar (Men’s High Jump)

• Athletics: Sundar Singh Gurjar (Men’s Javelin Throw)

• Badminton: Manoj Sarkar (Men’s Singles)

Key points Tokyo Paralympics 2020:

• Tokyo Paralympics 2020 was the 16th Summer Paralympic Games.

• It was held in Tokyo, Japan from August 24, to September 05, 2021.

• China topped the final medal tally at Tokyo Paralympic Games. The country won a total of 207 medals (96 golds, 60 silvers and 51 bronzes). This is the fifth consecutive time China dominated Paralympic Games in both gold medal tally and overall medal tally.

• United Kingdom (124) got the second position followed by the USA (104).

• The closing ceremony was entitled ‘Harmonious Cacophony’ and involved both able-bodied actors and others with disabilities.

• The theme was described by organizers as a ‘world inspired by the Paralympics, one where differences shine’

Dutch Grand Prix: Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) regained the top spot of the Formula One championship standings as he won the Dutch Grand Prix in front of raucous home support.

Highlights:

• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) came second while Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) came third.

• The Red Bull driver’s leading seventh win of the season and 17th of his career moved him three points ahead of the defending champion.

Asian Youth Championship: Indian boxers won six gold medals along with nine silver and five bronze medals in the Asian Youth Championship.

Highlights:

• Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Sneha Kumari (66kg), Khushi (75kg) and Neha (54kg) clinched gold medals in the women's draw, while Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) and Vishal (80kg) were the gold winners in the men's competition.

• Preeti Dahiya, Sneha Kumari, Khushi and Neha won the gold medals in the women’s draw.

• Out of 10 women finalists, six made directly to the finals because of small size of their respective draws.

• Dahiya defeated Kazakhstan’s Zuldyz Shayakmetova by 3-2.

• Khushi defeated Dana Diday of Kazakhstan by 3-0 in bouts.

• Bishwamitra Chongtham and Vishal are the gold-winners in the men’s competition.

• Preeti, Khushi, Tanisha Sandhu, Nivedita, Tamanna and Simran won the silver medals in women’s competition.

• Vishvanath Suresh, Vanshaj and Jaydeep Rawat won silver medals in men’s competition.

Background:

• Five Indian boxers, including one woman, earlier won bronze medals in youth event after they lost in semi-finals.

• Daksh, Deepak, Abhimanyu and Aman Singh Bisht won the bronze medals while in women’s category, Lashu Yadav won bronze medal.

Last edition of the competitions:

• Last edition of Asian Youth Championships was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

• India had won 12 medals, including five gold.

• The gold medalists in youth category were awarded with USD 6,000; silver medalists got USD 3,000 while bronze medalists got USD 1,500.

• In the junior competition held along with the Championships, India had won eight gold, five silver and six bronze medals.

• With 20 medals in the youth event, India also bettered last edition’s medals tally of 12, including five gold, achieved in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2019.

Asian Youth Athletics Championships:

• It is a biennial, continental athletics competition held for Asian athletes. It is organised by the Asian Athletics Association.

• The first championships were held in 2015.

• It is a youth category event that is held for athletes aged fifteen and seventeen.

Arts

Kashi-Tamil Sangamam: The Central Government recently announced ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangamam’, a month-long programme to “strengthen” and “rekindle” the cultural and civilizational bond between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi.

Key Points:

• ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangamam’ programme would be held from November 16 to December 19.
• This programme will be a part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative which is aimed at rekindling the civilisational link between the new Kashi and Tamil Nadu — both deep centres of knowledge.
• Building a heritage bridge for the new generation was a key feature of the National Education Policy (NEP).

About the Programme:

• As part of the programme, 2,500 individuals, split up into 12 groups, would be traveling by train to Varanasi during the period.
• The journey points in Tamil Nadu would be Chennai, Coimbatore and Rameswaram.
• The groups would include teachers, students, artisans and people from various walks of life.
• The tours would include seminars, lectures, group meetings and visits to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and centres of important Tamil cultural heritage in Varanasi.
• The knowledge partners for the programme would be IIT-Madras and the Banaras Hindu University, while the Uttar Pradesh government would be the host State.

Kashi in Hindu mythology:

• The word “Kashi” literally means to be luminous, or more particularly, a tower of light.
• The old city is located on the north shores of the Ganges, bounded by Varuna and Assi.
• Kashi is also called Varanasi, Benares or Banaras.
• Kashi is believed to have originated from an ancient ruler by the name of "Kasha," whose lineage gave rise to the illustrious legendary king Dividasa of Kashi.
• According to the Skanda Purana's Kashi Khand, Kashi is the name of the location where Shiva's light shines most gloriously.
• According to mythology, Kashi was founded by Lord Shiva, one of three principal deities along with Brahma and Vishnu.

Kashi-Tamil Sangamam: Key Themes

The Sangamam will be centred on themes covering various facets of knowledge –

• Literature,
• Ancient texts,
• Philosophy,
• Spirituality,
• Ayurveda,
• Yoga
• Music,
• Dance,
• Drama,
• Handlooms,
• Handicrafts,

As modern innovations

• Trade exchanges,
• Edutech and
• Other gen-next technology.

It will also be a unique learning experience for students, scholars, academics, practising professionals, etc., on various facets of Indian Knowledge Systems, education and training practices, arts and culture, language, literature, etc.

Kashi and Tamil Nadu Connection:

1. The connection between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu is over 1,000 years old and in Tamil epics like Silapathikkaram and Manimegalai the link has been widely mentioned.
2. "Kashi (Varanasi) and Kancheepuram have been mentioned in science and technology because they were the major centres of astronomical study.

History:

1. By the sixth century when the Pallavas had adopted Hinduism Shiva and Vishnu were elevated to the status of supreme Gods
2. The local deity, Murugan is incorporated into the Hindu pantheon.
3. Brahmanical ideology became crucial for Pallava and Chola's self-glorification.
4. The glorification of Shiva through grand temples is praised by the Tamil saints, called the Nayanars.
5. In their poems, the Nayanars praised aspects of Hindu mythology like Kashi and Ganga, but at the same time, the Tamil region to is praised immensely.
6. In the later Puranas, as sacred sites of southern India like Kanchipuram and Rameshwaram got added, they all came to be connected with Kashi as part of the same pilgrimage.
7. There is a Kashi Vishwanatha Temple in almost every temple town of Tamil Nadu.

Significance of Karthigai Tamil month:

1. Karthigai masam, Karthikai masam, is the eighth month as per Tamil Calendar.
2. Karthikai masam is the favorite month for Lord Muruga, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
3. Many major festivals are celebrated in the month of Karthika in Tamil Nadu.
4. Karthikai Deepam and Maha Bharani are the important Karthikai festivals.
5. Karthikai Deepam falls on the Full Moon or Pournami in Karthikai month.
6. Karthigai Masam coincides with Kartik month in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada calendars.

About Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat:

• The initiative ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ was announced in 2015.
• The programme seeks to actively improve interactions between individuals from various cultures who reside in various Indian States and UTs with the goal of fostering a greater sense of mutual understanding.
• The Nodal Ministry for this initiative is Ministry of Education (MoE).

US Returns Antiquities to India: The U.S. authorities formally handed over 307 antiquities, estimated to be worth nearly $4 million to Indian officials recently.

Key Facts:

• From the antiquities returned includes a Vishnu and Lakshmi with Garuda, dating to the 11th century C.E., which was allegedly stolen from a temple in Central India, a Chola-era Sambandar bronze idol, a Chola-era Devi idol in stone, bronze idols of Vinayaga, Narasimha with Lakshmi, a wooden idol of Muruga and wooden chauri bearers’ items that had been taken from Tamil Nadu.

What is Antiquity?

• “Antiquity” is an article or object that is at least 100 years old.
• It could be a sculpture, painting or epigraph, coin, or any object or article taken from a building or a cave, or anything that illustrates the science, art, crafts or customs or religion or literature of a bygone age, or anything of historical interest.
• If it is a manuscript or record of any scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value, it should be at least 75 years’ old.
• An art treasure is a human work of art, other than an antiquity, declared to be a treasure by the Centre for its artistic value after the artist’s death.

Which Act governs the antiquities in India?

• Antiquities in India are governed by The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 which falls within the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India ("ASI"), Union Ministry of Culture.

Possession of an antiquity:

• Possession of an unregistered antiquity is a punishable offence under law.
• Section 14(3) of the Act makes it mandatory for “every person who owns, controls or is in possession of any antiquity” to register it before a registering officer within 15 days of its coming into his control or possession and obtain a certificate of registration.
• Antiquities can be sold, but only by a licensed person.
• However, Section 3 of the Act prohibits export of an antiquity by anyone other than the Centre or its agencies.

Punishment:

• A jail term of six months, or with fine, or both.
• Besides, the antiquity is also liable to be confiscated.

National Maritime Heritage Complex, Lothal: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi recently reviewed the work in progress at the site of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat with the help of a drone via video conferencing.

About NMHC Project:

• National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC)Project at Lothal is being developed as a one-of-its-kind project to display India’s rich and diverse maritime heritage.
• The foundation stone for the NMHC project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the consent for the master plan was given in March 2019.
• The project started in 2022.
• It is being developed at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.
• It is being built under overall supervision and guidance of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Features:

• It will have several innovative features such as
• Lothal mini-recreation, which will recreate Harappan architecture and lifestyle through immersive technology;
• Four theme parks – Memorial theme park, Maritime and Navy theme park, Climate theme park, and Adventure and Amusement theme park.
• It will also house the world’s tallest lighthouse museum.
• Fourteen galleries highlighting India’s maritime heritage starting from the Harappan time till today.
• A Coastal states pavilion displaying the diverse maritime heritage of states and UTs.
• It will act as a centre for learning and understanding India’s maritime history and emerge as a world-class international tourist destination.

About Lothal:

• Lothal was one of the southernmost sites of the Indus Valley civilization (IVC), located in the Bhāl region of what is now the state of Gujarat.
• The meaning of Lothal (a combination of Loth and (s) thal) in Gujarati is “the mound of the dead”
• The port city is believed to have been built in 2,200 BC.
• Lothal was a thriving trade centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and ornaments reaching West Asia and Africa.
• It was not only a major trading centre of the Indus Valley Civilisation, but it was also a symbol of India’s maritime power and prosperity.

Lothal: A port city

• Archaeologist SR Rao led the team which discovered a number of Harappan sites including the port city of Lothal.
• According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Lothal had the world’s earliest known dock, connecting the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River.
• A metropolis with an upper and a lower town had in on its northern side a basin with vertical wall, inlet and outlet channels which has been identified as a tidal dockyard.
• The National Institute of Oceanography in Goa discovered marine microfossils and salt, gypsum crystals at the site.
• This indicated that sea water once filled the structure.
• The remains of stone anchors, marine shells, sealings which trace its source in the Persian Gulf, together with the structure identified as a warehouse further aid the comprehension of the functioning of the port.
• ASI unearthed a mound, a township, a marketplace, and the dock.

Key findings from Lothal Harappan Site:

• Port Town
• First manmade port
• Dockyard
• Graveyard
• Ivory weight balance
• Copper dog
• Rice husk
• Fire alters
• Chess-playing

Significance:

• Artefacts suggest that trade from Lothal may have been conducted with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia.
• An entire township with market and dock has been unearthed here.        

Heritage Value:

• Lothal was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.
• Lothal is the only port-town of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• Its heritage value is comparable to other ancient port-towns around the world – including Xel Ha (Peru), Ostia (Port of Rome) and Carthage (Port of Tunis) in Italy, Hepu in China, Canopus in Egypt, Gabel (Byblos of the Phoenicians), Jaffa in Israel, Ur in Mesopotamia, Hoi An in Vietnam, Balakot (Pakistan), Khirasa (in Gujarat’s Kutch) and Kuntasi (in Rajkot).

Important Sites of Indus Valley Civilization:

1. Mohenjo–daro in present Pakistan - bronze dancing girl, the sculpture of bearded priest, the great bath, the great granary.
2. Harappa in present Pakistan – granaries with big platform, stone symbol of lingam and yoni, mother goddess figure, wheat and barley in wooden mortar, dice, copper scale and mirror.
3. Ropar in Punjab – dog buried with human oval pit burials.
4. Dholavira in Gujarat – giant water reservoir, unique water harnessing system, stadium, dams and embankments, inscription comprising 10 large sized signs like an advertisement board.
5. Balathal and Kalibangan in Rajasthan – bangle factory, toy carts, bones of camel, decorated bricks, citadel and lower town.
6. Banawali in Haryana – toy plough, barley grains, oval-shaped settlement, the only city with radial streets.
7. Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh – impression of a cloth on a trough.

Economics

7th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of AIIB: Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman recently attended the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference.

About:

• Every year at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Governors meets to take key decisions on important matters relating to AIIB, and its future vision.
• India is a Founding Member and the second-largest shareholder in AIIB.
• India also has the largest project portfolio within AIIB.

The theme of for the year 2022 Annual Meeting was “Sustainable Infrastructure Toward a Connected World”.

Highlights of the meeting:

• Finance Minister shared her thoughts in the Governor’s Roundtable Discussion on the theme “Financing Infrastructure in a Crisis-Prone World”.
• She appreciated AIIB for its continued commitment and dedication to assist members and for providing high-quality development finance.
• While addressing the meeting she emphasized that India has embarked on the path of a self-reliant economy and therefore has been successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic.
• She stated that despite exogenous threats, India’s well-targeted policy mix, accompanied by major structural reforms and sound external balance sheet, have aided its growth to remain resilient.
• She also underscored the remarkable progress India has made through its Digitalization Mission, utilizing technology to facilitate social protection and boost financial inclusion.
• She also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively leading India’s climate change response efforts through various programs such as ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ and among many others.

About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

• The AIIB is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia.
• It was formed on 16 January 2016.
• Its area of operation is in Asia and it provides loans to build Infrastructure of tomorrow -green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation and connectivity at its core.
• It is headquartered in Beijing, China.
• The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world.

The breakdown of the 105 members by continents are as follows:

• 42 in Asia,
• 26 in Europe,
• 20 in Africa,
• 8 in Oceania,
• 8 in South America, and
• 1 in North America.

• China is the majority shareholder of the bank and India is the second largest shareholder of the bank.
• The United States and Japan are not the members of the bank.
• AIIB has given maximum loans to India.
• The current President of the Bank is Jin Liqun of China.

Note: Urjit Patel of India is one of the five Vice-President of AIIB.

Single Integrated Pensioners' Portal: Union Minister of state for Science and Technology recently launched the Single Integrated Pensioners’ Portal.

Key Points:

• Single Integrated Pensioners' Portal has been developed in collaboration with State Bank of India.
• It is aimed at “Ease of Living” for the Central Government Pensioners.
• All the remaining 16 Pension disbursing banks shall now begin their integration with BHAVISHYA.
• The 9.0 version of Bhavishya is being released with its integration with Pension Disbursing Banks.

BHAVISHYA:

• Bhavishya is a Portal for Pension Payment and Tracking System.
• It is being integrated with Pension Seva portal of SBI and will enable Pensioners to get all information and services at one place with single login.
• On completion of all phases of this integration the retirees can choose a Bank and Branch for opening an online Pension Account, check their monthly pension slips, Form 16, Status of Life Certificate as well as change their Pension Disbursing Bank through BHAVISHYA.
• Bhavishya has recently been rated as the 3rd best portal among all Government of India service portals by National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA).
• The following portals have now been merged with Bhavishya window:

• CPENGRAMS,
• ANUBHAV,
• ANUDAAN,
• SANKALP &
• Pension DASHBOARD.

• ‘Bhavishya’ platform was made mandatory for all central government departments since 01.01.2017.
• This system, currently is being successfully implemented in the main Secretariat of 97 Ministries/Departments including 815 Attached Offices, along with 7,902 DDOs on board."

Pension Disbursing Bank Exhibition:

• The Minister also inaugurated a Pension Disbursing Bank Exhibition in which all the 17 Pension Disbursing Banks participated to display their digital initiatives and products meant for retiring government officials.

Anubhav Awards:

• Singh conferred Anubhav Awards on 15 awardees for year 2019-20, 20-21 & 21-22.

Pre-Retirement Counselling:

• He also inaugurated Pre-Retirement Counselling for about 900 officials about to retire in next one year.

Note: The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare organizes Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) workshop for the benefits of retiring employees of the Government of India (GoI) as a welfare measure.

Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH): India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) recently collaborated for innovations in Financial Product and Services

Key Points:

• RBIH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• It was created to encourage and support an environment that speeds up innovation in the financial sector.
• It would provide everyone involved in the financial ecosystem a platform to embed a common vision and help them develop forward-thinking innovation strategies while addressing the most urgent problems facing the Indian financial sector.
• The organisation serves as a focal point to position India as a global innovation hub for a network of financial services providers, policymakers, technologists, academia, fintech innovation hubs and the investor community.
• Over a billion Indians will be able to access sustainable, secure, and frictionless financial services because to the network's increased ability to innovate and incubate new capabilities.

GI tag for Nihonshu/Japanese Sake: The Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, has filed an application seeking Geographical Indication (GI) tag for nihonshu/Japanese sake, an alcoholic beverage.

• This is the first time a product from Japan has filed for a tag at the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.

About Nihonshu:

• In Japan, nihonshu is regarded as a special and valuable beverage made from fermenting rice.
• People traditionally drink nihonshu on special occasions, such as festivals, weddings or funerals, but it is also consumed on a daily basis.
• Thus, it is an integral part of the lifestyle and culture in Japan.
• The sake market (almost all are nihonshu) is the second largest brewed liquor (such as beer) market in Japan.

How is nihonshu made?

• For making nihonshu three main raw materials – rice, koji-kin (a type of fungal spore) and water – are required.
• The production of nihonshu follows an alcoholic fermentation method called parallel multiple fermentation and involves raw material treatment, koji making, starter culture making, mash making, pressing, heat sterilisation and bottling.
• The rice and koji used should originate in Japan.

History:

• The economy of Japan was based around rice, which was used as a sort of quasi-money before the establishment of a monetary economy in the Meiji period (1869-1912).
• As a result, nihonshu production was thoroughly under the government’s control.
• As nihonshu’s production became more industrialised in the Edo period (1603-1868), those who had special licences began hiring many farmers in the agricultural off-season.
• They gradually won a reputation as craftsmen, which resulted in the establishment of the hierarchical Toii system (Toii is the person responsible for sake brewing), likened to an apprenticeship or guild system.

About GI Tag:

• Geographical Indication (GI) is an indication used to identify goods having special
• characteristics originating from a definite geographical territory.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to
• provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods
• in India.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
• It was decided and also stated under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention that the
• protection of industrial Property and Geographical Indication are elements of Intellectual
• Property.
• It is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial
• goods).
• This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

Significance:

• Once a product gets this tag, any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name.

Most Popular GI Award: Telangana's Hyderabadi Haleem has recently won the ‘Most Popular GI’ award after beating other food items including Bikaneri Bhujiya, Rasgulla, and Ratlami Sev.

Key Points:

• In a rigid competition with more than 15 food items across the country with Geographical Indication (GI) status, the famous Hyderabadi Haleem has bagged the ‘Most Popular GI’ award.
• GI tag is given to products to ensure that authorized users can only use the popular product name.
• For the first time, GI status was accorded to Hyderabadi Haleem in 2010.
• It expired in December 2019.
• However, later, the registrar of Geographical Indicator renewed the tag for the dish for 10 years.

Other GI tags for Telangana items:

• Other Telangana items that were accorded GI tag include Nirmal furniture, Nirmal toys and crafts, Nirmal Paintings, Gadwal sari, and Banaganapalle Mangoes.

Process:

• ‘Most Popular GI’ award is awarded by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The winner was chosen based on public opinion.
• The voting was done between August 2 and October 9 to select the dish.
• In the voting process, people from across the world participated with the majority of them voting for Hyderabadi Haleem.
• The traditional dish made during the month of Ramadan has beaten other popular GI dishes such as Ratlami Sev, Rasgulla, and Bikaneri Bhujiya to clinch the award.

Defence

Mission DefSpace: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched Mission DefSpace at DefExpo2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Key Points:

• The project’s goal is to create cutting-edge defence forces in the space industry.
• The space programme is aimed at developing innovative solutions for the Defence Forces through industry & startups.
• Significantly, the effort will strengthen India's preparation and position the nation for potential future space opportunities.
• Under Mission DefSpace, 75 challenges are being opened to get innovative solutions, based on the defence requirements in the space domain.
• The programme will focus on various challenges in this area that have been reviewed and identified by the three defence services.

Space diplomacy:

• India is sharing its space science with more than 60 developing countries.
• Many African countries and many other small countries are benefiting from this.
• The ‘South Asia satellite’ is an effective example of this.
• By 2023, ten ASEAN countries will also get real-time access to India’s satellite data.

DefExpo 2022:

• DefExpo 2022 at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat was inaugurated by PM Modi on October 19, 2022.
• Apart from Mission DefSpace to develop innovative solutions for the Armed Forces in the space domain through industry and start-ups.
• The Prime Minister, at the India Pavilion, also unveiled HTT-40 - the indigenous trainer aircraft designed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

• The aircraft has state-of-the-art contemporary systems and has been designed with pilot-friendly features.

• He also laid the foundation stone of the Deesa airfield in Gujarat.

• The construction of Deesa forward airbase would add to the security architecture of the country and boost the local economy.

• The theme of this year's event is 'Path to Pride'.
• With record registration of 1,340 companies, DefExpo 2022 is set to be the biggest Indian defence exhibition till date.
• It is also the first-ever edition of the event to exclusively feature Indian companies.
• The biennial exhibition is being organised to support, showcase and forge partnerships for the Indian aerospace and defence manufacturing sector with Indian as well as global customers.

Rustom-2: By August 2023, all user trials for the domestic medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are expected to be finished.

Key Points related to Rustom-2:

• Rustom-2 is also known as Tapas-BH (Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201).
• It is an indigenous Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV.
• It is powered by a small turbofan engine.
• The engine is Russian TRDD-50MT originally designed for cruise missiles.
• It has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, with the production partners being Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd.
• It is being developed to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles.
• It is capable of carrying different combinations of advanced payload and capable of auto landing, among others.
• In December 2021, Rustom-2 had crossed a milestone by reaching an altitude of 25,000 feet and an endurance of 10 hours.
• Its navigation was done using GAGAN satellites through the onboard SATCOM system.
• In the past, Rustom-2 technologically matched the contemporary UAVs available and would have been more affordable than the imported ones while meeting the requirements of the three Services.

Significance:

• High endurance UAVs are top priority requirement for the Indian armed forces especially in light of the stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh.
• The armed forces rely heavily on the Israeli Searcher and Heron drones and need more such UAVs.

India-U.K. Defence Industry JWG: Defence industry organisations from India and the U.K. have decided to create a new Defence Industry Joint Working Group (JWG) for more effective cooperation.

Key Points:

• This decision was taken on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar on October 18, 2022.
• DefExpo-2022 has witnessed the representation from 20 U.K. defence companies.
• The UK industry is already integrating Indian defence suppliers into their global supply chain, manufacturing defence equipment not just for India but for the world.
• The JWG is part of an ongoing initiative between the two countries to strengthen the defence and security partnership.
• Recently, the UK issued its first Open General Export License (OGEL) in the Indo-Pacific region to India, shortening delivery times for defence procurement.
• The Royal Air Force (RAF) recently conducted a subject matter expertise exchange with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) during the visit of Eurofighter Typhoon, Voyager and A-400 in New Delhi.
• RAF also held joint-flying exercises with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Shaurya Diwas 2022: The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the 76th Infantry Day attended the Shaurya Diwas program organized by the Indian Army in Budgam.

Key Points:

• On October 27, 2022, the Defence Ministry organized "Shaurya Diwas" celebrations in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), to mark the 75th anniversary of the Indian Army's air landing operations at Budgam Airport in 1947.
• The event was organized as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
• J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was also present during the event.
• The Defence Minister also visited an exhibition by the Indian Army at the occasion.

Background:

• The Indian army, On October 27, 1947 was air-lifted by the Indian Air Force and landed at the Budgam Airport to evict the Pakistani backed Tribal invaders from J&K, a day after the ‘Instrument of Accession’ was signed between Maharaja Hari Singh and the Republic of India.

Infantry Day:

• 27th October is also observed by the Indian Army as ‘Infantry Day’. 
• It was on this day in 1947 that Infantry-men from the Indian Army became the first troops to land at Srinagar airport and repel the first attack on Indian soil, in Kashmir Valley.
• Speaking on the occasion Rajnath Singh paid rich tribute to the courage and valour of the first Param Vir Chakra recipient, Major Somnath Sharma, who despite being injured led a company & saved the Srinagar airfield.
• This enabled the Indian to land its forces in Jammu and Kashmir and saved the state from falling into Pakistan’s hand.
• He also paid glowing tributes to the bravery of other Gallantry award winners such as Brigadier Rajinder Singh and Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai, who gave away their lives to protect the motherland.

Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner: President of India Droupadi Murmu presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard (PBG) at a ceremony at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Key Points:

• In the one-and-a-half-hour-long ceremony, the President’s Bodyguard accepted the President’s Silver Trumpet and Trumpet banner.
• The presentation parade was then followed by an audio-visual presentation highlighting the history and significance of the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner.

History of President’s Bodyguard:

• The President’s Bodyguard is the oldest regiment in the Indian Army, having been raised as the Governor-General’s Bodyguard (later the Viceroy’s Bodyguard) in 1773.
• The PBG, which represents the President of India's own troops, holds the exclusive honour of being the only Indian Army military unit to be permitted to carry the President's silver trumpet and trumpet banner.
• In 1923, this distinction was conferred on the President’s Bodyguard by the then Viceroy, Lord Reading, on the occasion of the Bodyguard completing 150 years of service.
• Each succeeding Viceroy, thereafter, presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the Bodyguard.
• On January 27, 1950, the regiment was renamed the President’s Bodyguard.
• Every President has continued the practice of honouring the regiment.
• The President's monogram is displayed on the Banner rather than a coat of arms, as was customary during the colonial era.
• Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, presented his Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard on May 14, 1957.
• The modern-day President's Bodyguard was developed in Banaras (Varanasi) by the then-Gov.-Gen. Warren Hastings.
• Its initial strength was 50 cavalry troopers, which was later increased by a further 50 horsemen.
• The President's Bodyguard of today consists of a small group of hand-picked individuals with distinctive physical characteristics.
• They are selected via a rigorous and physically grueling process.

India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise: The Indian Navy recently participated in the first edition of the India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise (IMT TRILAT) in Tanzania.

Key Highlights:

• This trilateral exercise commenced at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on 27th October 2022.
• It is being held till 29 October and includes harbour and sea phases.
• Indian Navy is represented by the guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak Helicopter, and MARCOS.

IMT TRILAT - Key Points:

• The exercise has three broad objectives:

1. Capability development to address common threats through training and sharing of best practices
2. Enhancing interoperability
3. Strengthening maritime cooperation

• In the harbor phase, various capacity-building activities are involved which include visit, board, search, and seizure.
• Small arms training, joint diving operations, damage control and fire fighting exercises, and cross-deck visits are scheduled in the capacity building activities.
• The sea phase includes boat operations, fleet maneuvers, visit, board, search, and seizure operations, helicopter operations, small arms firing, formation anchoring, and EEZ patrols.

Significance:

• These exercises reflect India’s and the Indian Navy’s commitment to enhancing maritime security and cooperation with maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and promoting SAGAR, Safety and Growth for All in the Region.
• India has played a crucial humanitarian assistance/disaster relief role in the IOR, most recently during Cyclone Idai in Mozambique in March 2019 to Cyclone Diane in Madagascar in June 2020.

Environment

3rd edition of CII's Renewable Energy Conference: The 3rd edition of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) renewable energy conference was recently held in New Delhi from 17-19 October 2022.

Key Points:

• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India (GoI) organised the 3rd edition of the International Conference & Exhibition on ‘Pathways for Global Partnership in Green Energy: Powering Atma Nirbhar Bharat & the World’.
• This initiative aims to strengthen international cooperation and take coordinated action to create a green economy and to power a clean and green planet.
• The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goel addressed the conference.
• In his address, he said that “India has the potential to grow into a global supplier of renewable energy equipment”.
• He reiterated India’s commitment to achieve 500 GW renewable energy generation by 2030.
• India has also set a goal of having 50% of its total energy mix come from renewable sources by 2030.
• India has committed to being carbon net-zero by 2070.
• While Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-sufficient India, concentrates on improving local manufacturing skills and bolstering net-zero ambitions, it also has enormous potential to become the world's epicentre for renewable energy and the green hydrogen ecosystem.

About Confederation of Indian Industries (CII):

• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group.
• CII was founded in 1895.
• CII engages business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
• It is a membership-based organization.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

2022 Forest Declaration Assessment: 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment was recently published on October 24 2022.

Key Facts:

• Despite providing sobering insight into the status of international forest commitments, the 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment gives reason for hope that the 2030 forest goals can be met.
• The Assessment is presented as series of four reports on Overarching forest goals.

1. Theme 1- Sustainable production and development
2. Theme 2- Finance for forests
3. Theme 3- Forest governance
4. Theme 4- all summarized in an Executive Summary

Key findings of the assessment:

• According to the assessment, in 2021, deforestation rates have declined worldwide declined only modestly in 2021 by 6.3 % compared to the 2018-20 baseline.
• Though the rate of forest loss has deaccelerated, the crucial climate goal of stopping deforestation by 2030 would still not be achieved.
• A 10 per cent annual reduction is required to stop deforestation completely by 2030.
• About 145 countries affirmed their commitment to stop and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow (2021).

Contributors to Deforestation:

• In 2021, Brazil was the largest contributor of deforestation in the world.
• The country recorded a 3 per cent increase in the deforestation rate in 2021 as compared to the 2018-2020 baseline.
• Although Brazil didn’t show a large increase, its total deforestation rates each year remained high — making it the world’s largest contributor.
• The deforestation rate in Bolivia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was 6 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Increase in Tree Cover:

• Global tree cover has increased by 130.9 million hectares over the past 20 years. Three-quarters of the increase was concentrated in 13 countries.
• The most significant increase was seen in Russia (28.4%), Canada (13.0%), the United States (10.0%), Brazil (6.2%) and China (5%).
• China recorded the largest net increase in tree cover of 2.1 million hectares.
• India recorded 0.87 million hectares increase in tree cover.
• Around 90 per cent of total tree cover gain in the world is is likely due to natural regeneration and assisted natural regeneration that occurred outside plantations.
• However, the increase in tree cover does not cancel out tree loss nor does it eliminate the adverse impact of forest degradation in terms of carbon storage, biodiversity, or ecosystem services.

Reduction in Deforestation:

• Compared to 2018–20, Gabon reduced deforestation by 28% last year.
• The nation implemented measures to stop illegal logging and the enforcement of protected areas.
• Indonesia reduced deforestation, after the implementation of the forest moratorium and improved enforcement procedures.
• The ban on fires caused by deforestation, which affects approximately 66 million hectares of primary forest and peatland (terrestrial wetland ecosystems) was first put into effect in 2011 and has subsequently been periodically renewed.
• The coordinated implementation of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon between 2004 and 2012 in Brazil can be partly attributed for the decline in deforestation rates. It created effective surveillance systems and protected areas.
• In the recent years, legal actions have been taken to protect forests in the European Union, Ecuador, and India.
• The rights of nature enshrined in Ecuador's constitution were upheld by a constitutional court in 2021.

Recommendation:

• Recently, World Wide Fund for Nature released an analysis of public funding strategies from governments and multilateral donors.
• It found that few government donors explicitly fund forest landscape restoration, although many prioritise areas such as climate change, biodiversity, rural development and forestry.
• The report estimates that it would cost a maximum of 460 billion USD per annum to protect, restore and enhance forest on a global scale annually.
• Presently, domestic and international finances targeting mitigation of forest loss averages 2.3 billion per annum.
• This is less than 1 per cent of the required amount.
• The forest funding must increase by up to 200 times to meet the 2030 goals.

About Forest Declaration Assessment:

• The Forest Declaration Assessment a comprehensive, civil society-led effort to assess collective progress toward global forest goals.
• The Forest Declaration Assessment annually publishes rigorously researched and peer-reviewed progress assessment reports on the state of global forests.
• It is a continual and collaborative process achieved collectively by civil society organizations and researchers, known as the Forest Declaration Assessment Partners.
• All assessment findings undergo a rigorous peer review process conducted by experts across the globe.
• The information that the Forest Declaration Assessment collects and publishes every year supports planning to ensure that 2030 forests goals can be met through a coordinated and collaborative effort of governments, corporations, and civil society.

History of the Forest Declaration Assessment:

• The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) was launched without a built-in system for oversight and accountability when it was adopted in 2014.
• The NYDF Progress Assessment emerged from this gap.
• Convened by a coalition of civil society organizations called the NYDF Assessment Partners, the NYDF Assessment published its initial report and assessment framework in 2015.
• Since then, the NYDF Assessment has published annual progress reports on the ten goals of the NYDF.
• From 2016 to 2021, the NYDF Assessment published in-depth focus reports on each of the NYDF’s major themes:

1. Overarching forest goals: Protecting and restoring forests in 2019 and Taking stock of national climate action for forests in 2021
2. Sustainable production and development: Eliminating deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities in 2016 and Balancing forests and development in 2020
3. Forest finance: Finance for forests in 2017
4. Forest governance: Improving governance to protect forests in 2018

Initiatives by India:

1. Indian Forest Policy, 1952
2. Wildlife Protection Act of 1972
3. Forest Conservation Act, 1980
4. Environment Protection Act of 1986
5. National Forest Policy, 1988
6. National Afforestation Programme
7. Biodiversity Diversity Act of 2002.
8. Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

Indo-France Joint Roadmap on Hydrogen Partnership:  India and France recently adopted an ambitious roadmap for the development of green hydrogen as part of the efforts to promote clean energy transitions and meet carbon neutrality targets.

Key Points:

• The “Indo-French Roadmap on the Development of Green Hydrogen" was adopted by French Minister of State for Development and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou and R K Singh, India's New and Renewable Energy Minister
• The main goal of this roadmap is bringing the French and Indian hydrogen ecosystems together in order to establish a reliable and sustainable value chain for decarbonised hydrogen.
• On 4th May 2022, on the occasion of their meeting in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clear mandate to foster bilateral cooperation on hydrogen.
• The adoption of this roadmap delivers on this mandate.

Through this roadmap, France and India commit to working together on:

• Establishing a regulatory framework for developing a decarbonised hydrogen value chain, storage, covering production, transportation and consumption.
• Developing robust carbon-content certification methods to certify the carbon content of decarbonised hydrogen throughout its lifecycle.
• Knowledge sharing and skill development programmes between certification bodies will be encouraged.
• Fostering R&D to improve hydrogen technologies.
• To this end, India and France will facilitate cooperation between their relevant research institutions, including by facilitating visa issuance for researchers.
• Supporting the industrial partnerships between Indian and French energy industries.
• India and France will facilitate contacts between economic actors, facilitate administrative procedures, and support pilot projects where suitable.

TN's SLCVC: The Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) has launched a State-Level Committee for Vulture Conservation (SLCVC) for coordination within the government for the implementation of the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (APVC) 2020-2025.

About SLCVC:

• The national initiative for the protection of vultures in India, which saw a 96% drop between 1993 and 2003, advocated the creation of the State-Level Committee for Vulture Conservation (SLCVC).
• The committee will be headed by the principal chief conservator of forests of the state.
• Other members include the director of animal husbandry department and the director of drug controller, the food safety and drug administration department, and key members from non-profits focusing on wildlife conservation.

Functions of the committee:

• The committee, which has a two-year tenure, will work towards setting up regulations for the ban of drugs that are toxic to vultures, especially the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) that are banned under the Vulture Action Plan (2020-25).
• It will look at ban the use of toxic veterinary drugs (Diclofenac) to vultures which is the main reason for vulture fatalities, breeding centres, vulture census among other issues centering vultures.
• It will ensure the scientific management of carcass dumps.
• It will be responsible for the creation of more breeding grounds and rescue centres for the raptors in Tamil Nadu, as well as the regular monitoring of the population in the state.
• It will take part in the national-level vulture census and identify locations for undertaking the survey and creating “vulture safe zones” in the state.
• It will create the Annual Report of Action Plan for Vulture Conservation.

Issues faced by vultures in India:

• There are a total of nine vultures species found in India of which four species of vultures are found in Tamil Nadu. The four species are -

1. The Oriental white-backed vulture,
2. The long-billed vulture,
3. The red-headed vulture, and
4. The Egyptian vulture.

• The first three are residents and can be found in the landscapes of the Nilgiris and Sathyamangalam.
• There is evidence of Egyptian vulture breeding only at one site in Dharmapuri.
• Other vulture species found in India are – slender-billed, Himalayan, bearded, cinereous and the Eurasian griffon.

Vulture population:

• 96% of India’s vulture population declined between 1993 and 2003.
• Therefore, the Central government put into place two action plans to protect the species at the national level — the first in 2006 and the second, ongoing plan for 2020-2025.
• One of the important action points in this nationwide plan is the formation of State-level committees to save the critically endangered population of vultures.

Conservation Status:

9 species of vultures are found in India.

Of these nine species, 4 are listed as Critically Endangered species of Vultures and one as endangered species in IUCN red list of endangered species.

Species of Vultures found in India and their Conservation Status:

1. Indian Vulture or Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus)-Critically Endangered
2. Indian White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)-Critically Endangered
3. Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogypscalvus)- Critically Endangered
4. Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris)- Critically Endangered
5. Egyptian Vulture (Neophronpercnopterus)- Endangered
6. Cincerous Vulture (Aegypiusmonachus)- Near Threatened
7. Bearded Vulture (Gypaetusbarbatus)-Near Threatened
8. Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayansis)-Near Threatened
9. Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)- Least Concern

Indian Policy

Mission LiFE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) in the presence of the United Nations of the Secretary-General, António Guterres at the Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar, Kevadia recently.

Highlights:

Several world leaders delivered video messages for the global inauguration, including Madagascar President Rajoelina, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said that the vision of LiFE is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it and those who live such a lifestyle are called “Pro-Planet People.”

Key Points related to Mission LiFE:

• The idea of Mission LiFE (‘Lifestyle for the Environment) was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow 2021.
• The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on 'mindful and deliberate utilisation' instead of 'mindless and destructive consumption'. Strategy of LiFE.
• It envisioned as an India-led global mass movement that is intended to spur both individual and group action to save and conserve the environment.
• Mission LiFE will strengthen the concept of P3 (Pro-Planet People) and join the people of Earth.
• It functions on the basic principles of ‘Lifestyle of the planet, for the planet and by the planet’.
• According to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) the "Mission LiFE aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing our collective approach towards sustainability.

1. First, by nudging individuals to practise simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand);
2. Second, by enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply) and;
3. Third is to influence government and industrial policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy).

Draft National Credit Framework (NCrF): Union Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Shri Dharmendra Pradhan recently launched the draft of National Credit Framework (NCrF) for public consultation on October 19, 2022.

Minister of State for Education Annpurna Devi and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar were also present on the occasion.

Key Points:

• The Government of India (GoI) has created the National Credit Framework (NCrF) to enable the integration of academic and vocational domains in order to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two.
• The NCrF is a next generation, multidimensional instrument under National Education Policy (NEP).
• The Framework would be a game changer because it would provide a number of opportunities for students to advance and integrate formal and higher education with vocational training and experiential learning.
• It will also enable students who have dropped out of mainstream education to re-enter the education ecosystem.
• It is an umbrella framework for skilling, re-skilling, up-skilling, accreditation & evaluation encompassing our people in educational & skilling institutions and workforce.

‘Credits’ in the education system:

• Credits are essentially a “recognition that a learner has completed a prior course of learning, corresponding to a qualification at a given level”, according to the draft document.
• In other words, it is a way of quantifying learning outcomes. For example, the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) followed by many universities in India.

Credit frameworks:

• The NCrF will seamlessly integrate the credits earned through school education, higher education, and vocational and skill education by encompassing the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF), National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), and National School Education Qualification Framework (NSEQF).

Note: Credit frameworks are guidelines to be followed by schools, colleges and universities in adopting the credit system.

• For instance, The NHEQF lays out the guidelines for higher educational institutions that want to implement the credit system.

NCrF different from the existing frameworks:

• All of the frameworks are intended to be combined under the proposed NCrF.
• Furthermore, it also brings the entire school education system under the ambit of credits for the first time.
• Only the National Institute of Open Schooling used a credit system up until this point.
• The NCrF also covers skill and vocational education.

Indian polity

Bhasha Kendras: The Central Government has decided to set up language centres to prepare study material and courses for each of the 22 languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

Key Points:

• The centres are to be called bhasha kendras.
• They will be established under the Union ministry of education’s Indian Knowledge System (IKS) initiative.
• These language centres will be in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, that emphasises on promoting regional languages.
• The centres will be assigned three broad responsibilities.

1. Firstly, they will compile short booklets of 100 to 200 pages from the IKS-related books and manuscripts that are available in their designated languages.

• The centres will also be translating these works into English and Sanskrit.

1. Secondly, these centres will be to enrich their designated Indian languages with modern science and social models.

• They will be asked to translate 1,000 pages of material in other languages into their designated language.

1. Thirdly, they will develop courses at the undergraduate level.

Note: Currently, the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution contains 22 languages-Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

However, no time frame can be fixed for consideration of the demands for the inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

Presently, there are more than 30 languages that are demanded to be included in the eighth schedule of the constitution.

National Language of India:

• There is no national language of India as per the constitution, Hindi and English both are considered the official language of India.
• As per Article 343 of the Indian constitution the official language of the country shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. Initially, after the independence of India, 14 languages were included in the constitution of India.
• The official language act 1963 provides languages that may be used for the official purpose of the Union of India for the transaction of business in parliament for Central and state acts and for a certain purpose in the Hindi high court.
• In 1950, when the constitution of India came into effect, it allowed the Indian parliament to continue the use of English. After a few years, in 1964, the government faced resistance from the non-Hindi-speaking people of the country, due to the decision of making Hindi the official language.
• This was the reason, that both Hindi and English were made the official language of the country.
• The official languages of colonial India were English, Urdu and Hindi.

Official Language or Languages of a State:

 

• Subject to the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State: Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.

Hate Speech: The Supreme Court has recently directed the police and state governments to initiate Suo Motu action against those accused of making hate speeches without waiting for a formal complaint.

Key Points:

• The Apex Court expressed concern over people spreading hatred and targeting communities in the name of religion.
• A bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy directed the Governments of NCT of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to file a report before the Court regarding the actions taken on the hate speech crimes which happened within their jurisdiction.

What is hate speech?

• There is no specific legal definition of ‘hate speech’.
• Hate speech is generally regarded as a restriction on the right to free speech that aims to stop or outlaw communication that exposes an individual, group, or aspect of society to hate, violence, mockery, or indignity.

Article 19 and Hate Speech:

• Article 19(2) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens of India.
• This article is subjected to certain restrictions, namely -

• Sovereignty and integrity of India,
• The security of the State,
• Friendly relations with foreign States, public order,
• Decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court,
• Defamation or incitement to an offence.

• Provisions in clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19 authorizes the State to restrict the exercise of the freedom guaranteed under the article.

Legal Provisions:

Generally, Sections 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code are taken to be the main penal provisions that deal with inflammatory speeches and expressions that seek to punish ‘hate speech’.

• Under Section 153A, ‘promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony’, is an offence punishable with three years’ imprisonment.
• Section 505 of Indian Penal Code (IPC)makes it an offence to making “statements conducing to public mischief”.

Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 disqualifies a person from contesting election if he is convicted for indulging in acts amounting to illegitimate use of freedom of speech and expression.

International

Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security: Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan who is on an official visit to Senegal from October 24-25, attended the 8th Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Dakar, Africa.

Key Points:

• The Dakar Forum, which has been held yearly since 2014, has become a key event for decision-makers involved in Africa.
• This is the first time that India is participating in the Forum at a Ministerial level.
• India's commitment to the stability, growth, and peace of Africa was made clear by his participation at the Dakar Forum.
• It is also in line with India’s policy to intensify and deepen its engagement with Africa.
• Mr. Murleedharan also addressed the Forum on the topic of ‘Global Crises and Sovereignty in Africa’.
• He advocated the adoption of a development paradigm that is driven by, owned by, and focused on the people of Africa.
• In addition to emphasizing the need for UNSC reforms, he underlined India's peacekeeping commitments and aid during COVID-19 in the form of vaccines, climate action, and development partnerships.
• The Indian community joined Mr. Murleedharan in building a Unity Chain to mark Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary on the eve of National Unity Week.

About Dakar Peace and Security Forum:

• The Dakar Peace and Security Forum annually brings together many African Heads of State and Government, international partners, as well as multiple actors of Peace and Security.
• It was launched during the 2013 Élysée Summit organized by France.
• The first edition of the forum was held in December 2014 in Dakar under the high patronage of Macky SALL, President of the Republic of Senegal

India and Senegal Relations:

• With strong economic involvement and development cooperation, Senegal and India enjoy amicable and cordial relations and share the same ideals of democracy and secularism.
• Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established at the Ambassadorial level in 1962, with a resident Indian Mission in Dakar.
• The bilateral trade between India and Senegal was $ 1.65 billion in 2021-22.
• Major items of export from India include food items, textiles, automobiles and pharmaceuticals.
• Major items of import from Senegal are raw cashew and phosphoric acid.

About Senegal:

• Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa.
• It is a unitary presidential republic and is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia.
• It owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. 
• Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest.
• Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.
• The currency used here is West African CFA franc.
• The current President of Senegal is Macky Sall.

7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF): Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar recently co-chaired the 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF) on Agriculture and Forestry which was held virtually on 26 October 2022.

• The meeting witnessed the participation of Agriculture Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Key Points of the meeting:

• The progress in implementation of various programs and activities under the Medium-Term Action Plan of ASEAN-India Cooperation (Year 2021-2025) was reviewed.
• The commitment to ASEAN-India cooperation in agriculture and forestry was reaffirmed.
• Union Minister Shri Tomar committed to enhance India's cooperation with ASEAN in food security, nutrition, climate change adaptation, digital farming, nature-friendly agriculture, food processing, value chain, agricultural marketing and capacity building.
• The meeting also welcomed the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations.

About Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN):

• ASEAN is officially called as “Association of Southeast Asian Nations”.
• It is a political and economic union comprising of 10-member states in Southeast Asia.
• These member states are Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
• These member states promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, security, political, educational, military, and sociocultural integration between member countries and Asia-Pacific countries.

Objectives of ASEAN:

• ASEAN work with the primary objective of accelerating economic growth, social progress as well as cultural development.
• Its aim is to promote regional peace and stability in accordance with rule of law and United Nations charter.
• ASEAN has broadened its objective beyond social and economic.

One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA): The One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA)was recently launched by the Quadripartite – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE).

Key Points:

• This is the first-of-its-kind plan that seeks to implement One Health Approach at all levels.
• The action plan will be implemented from 2022 to 2026 to address health challenges at the international, regional, and national levels.

Its key focus areas are -

• One Health capacity for health systems Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics
• Endemic zoonotic
• Neglected tropical and vector-borne disease anti-microbial resistance 
• The environment
• Food safety risks.

• Its goals include promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing about One Health, as well as mainstreaming the One Health concept and offering technical and legislative guidance to assist in establishing national goals and priorities.
• It aims to integrate systems and boost capacity to collectively prevent, predict, detect and respond to the global health crisis.
• It will enhance the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment and promote sustainable development.
• It will address challenges such as ecosystem degradation, food system failures, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• It has been outlined in the plan to maintain antimicrobial effectiveness.

About One Health Approach:

• A sustainable balance and optimization of the health of people, animals, plants, and ecosystems are the goals of the comprehensive, unified approach known as “One Health.”
• One Health Approach recognizes the interdependence of humans, domestic and wild animals, and the wider environment.
• It is the integrated and unifying approach that seeks to balance the health of people, animals, and the environment.
• It will increase the ability of the global community to prevent, predict, detect and respond to health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The approach involves the mobilization of multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities at various levels of society to recognize the root causes of complex issues and create long-term and sustainable solutions.
• It integrates the capabilities of public healthcare system, veterinary health, and environmental sectors at all levels.
• It will help boost food and water safety, nutritional security, pollution management, and combat antimicrobial resistance.

India-Africa Security Fellowship Programme: The India-Africa Security Fellowship Programme was recently launched during the 2nd India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD).

Key Points related to India-Africa Security Fellowship Programme:

• The IADD was held on the sidelines of the DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The newly launched fellowship will give opportunities for African scholars to undertake research on defence and security-related topics in India.
• The fellows will spend one to three months working at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) as part of this programme.
• They will be given a stipend during the research.
• The research programme will focus on topics that will increase the understanding of security challenges in Africa and possibilities of boosting India-Africa cooperation.
• It will also enhance ties between Indian and African researchers and boost mutual research capabilities on strategic issues.

About India-Africa Defence Dialogue:

• The India-Africa Defence Dialogue is held every two years during the successive DefExpos.
• The aim of the event is to build on the existing defence ties between India and African countries and explore new opportunities to boost mutual engagements.

About 2nd IADD:

• The 2nd India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) was held on October 18, 2022, based on the theme ‘Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation’.
• The conference aims to investigate new defence cooperation opportunities between India and African nations, including counterterrorism, cyber security, training, and capacity building.
• This event witnessed the participation of Fifty African countries.
• During the Dialogue, a book titled ‘India-Africa Defence Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges’ was released.
• At the conclusion of the event, the Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted.
• It aims to increase training industry collaboration in areas of shared interest.
• It also aims to increase the capabilities of defence forces in Africa as well as joint exercises and humanitarian assistance during natural disasters.

14th World Spice Congress: The 14th edition of the World Spice Congress (WSC) is being organized in Mumbai, Maharashtra from February 16 to 18 next year.

Key Points:

• The 14th edition of the WSC will be organized by the Spices Board of India, which comes under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is being organized in conjunction with a number of trade and export forums is hosting the World Spice Congress during India’s G20 presidency.
• This event is going to be all about and only about ‘SPICES,’ after announcing the subject.
• The theme for the 14th WSC is “Vision 2030: SPICES (Sustainability – Productivity – Innovation – Collaboration – Excellence and Safety)”
• This biennial event will focus on trade, sustainability, quality and food safety initiatives, recent developments, concerns, and prospects of the spice industry.
• It will bring together key players in the industry, including regulatory authorities from significant importing nations, ministers of trade, and industry associations from G20 member nations.
• Around 1,000 delegates from more than 50 countries are anticipated to take part in the event.
• The 2023 World Spice Congress will be organized as a G20 event, after India takes up the presidency from December 2022 to November 2023.
• Emphasis will be given to strengthening India’s trade ties with G20 countries.
• It will promote new business opportunities and boost trade ties while showcasing the advantages and skills of the Indian spice sector in addition to the business workshops.
• The exhibition will feature the product line of the Indian spice business, applications in the medical and health domains, innovations, and cutting-edge technology.

About WSC:

• The World Spice Congress (WSC) is the largest exclusive commercial venue of the global spice industry that creates a platform to improve the understanding of the status and challenges of the spice sector.
• It was organized for the first time in 1990. Since then, 13 editions have been organized over the past three decades.

Spices Board of India:

• The Spices Board of India is a regulatory and export promotion body for Indian spices. It was set up in 1987 under the Spices Board Act, 1986 to promote the production and development of cardamom and the export of other species mentioned under Scheduled of the Act.
• It is headquartered in Kochi, Kerala.

Wolf Warrior Diplomacy: Wolf Warrior Diplomacy is a style of coercive diplomacy adopted by Chinese diplomats during the Xi Jinping became the President of China.

Key Points:

• The term was coined from the 2015 Chinese action film, titled ‘Wolf Warrior’, and its sequel.
• This strategy is in contrast to earlier Chinese diplomatic tactics under Deng Xiaoping, who placed a strong emphasis on avoiding conflict and use conciliatory language.
• It is a tactic for the Chinese government to extend its ideology beyond China and counter the West and defend itself.
• It is an unofficial term for the more aggressive and confrontational style of communication that Chinese diplomats have taken to in the last decade.
• It confronts head-on any criticism of China in the public sphere.

Need for wolf warrior diplomacy:

• The change in strategy has been attributed to many reasons, such as Xi Jinping’s more authoritarian tendencies as compared to earlier leaders, deteriorating US-China relations under former US President Donald Trump, the coronavirus pandemic-related accusations on China, etc.
• According to Chinese officials, the move is simply about standing up to what they believe is Western interference.

About China:

• China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia.
• It is governed by the Communist Party of China.
• It is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army, the People's Liberation Army, and the second-largest defense budget.
• The capital of China is Beijing.
• The currency used here is Yuan (CNY) and Renminbi (RMB).
• The yuan is the unit of account of the country's economic and financial system while Renminbi is the official currency of China where it acts as a medium of exchange.
• The current President of china is Xi Jinping.

World Statistics Day 2022: World Statistics Day 2022 is celebrated on October 20th every five years, which means every half a decade, statistics about our lives and related things are examined and discussed for better decision-making for the times to come.

Key Points:

• The day was designated in 2010 by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) to put light on the importance of statistics and the significance of academic research on the development of business and civil society.
• UNSC has been at the forefront of advocating for the use of statistics to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Good data and statistics are essential for effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of progress towards the SDGs.

Theme:

• The theme of this year is ‘Data for Sustainable Development’.

Significance:

• The day celebrates the role of statistics and statisticians in improving the world we live in and marks the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1947.
• World Statistics Day emphasizes how statistics speed up and simplify processes.
• Decision-makers require precise and sufficiently disaggregated data and statistics to fully moniter and track progress on the SDGs.
• The quality of data availability has steadily improved over the years.
• At all levels of decision-making, the statistical ability needs to be improved, and data literacy needs to be increased.
• This will also demand innovative ways to produce and apply data and statistics in addressing the multifaceted challenges of sustainable development.

History of World Statistics Day:

• The United Nations Statistical Commission proposed celebrating 20 October 2010 as World Statistics Day.
• The General Assembly adopted on 3 June 2010 resolution 64/267, which officially designated 20 October 2010 as the first-ever World Statistics Day under the general theme “Celebrating the many achievements of official statistics.
• In 2015, with resolution 96/282, the General Assembly decided to designate 20 October 2015 as the second World Statistics Day under the general theme “Better data, better lives,” as well as to celebrate World Statistics Day every five years on 20 October.

Data for Sustainable Development:

• Already, the Internet of Things is revolutionizing society.
• The open data movement, the introduction of crowdsourcing, new ICTs for data collection, and the explosion in big data availability with the emergence of artificial intelligence are all parts of the data revolution.
• Advances in computing and data science have made it possible to process and analyse big data in real-time.
• New insights gleaned from such existing data mining can complement official statistics and data for survey, adding nuance to information on human behaviours.

Statistics Day in India:

• In India, recognising the notable contributions made by Professor (late) Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning, the Government of India has designated 29th June every year, coinciding with his birth anniversary, as “Statistics Day” in the category of Special Days to be celebrated at the national level.
• By taking inspiration from Professor Mahalanobis regarding the function and significance of statistics in socioeconomic planning and policy making, the goal of this Day is to raise public awareness, particularly among the younger generation.

Note: In India, on this occasion,through awards established for this purpose, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) additionally honours the exceptional contribution made through top-notch research in the areas of applied and theoretical statistics benefiting the official statistical system.

National

Chintan Shivir: A two-day Chintan Shivir of Home Ministers was recently held on the 27th & 28 of October 2022 at Surajkund, Haryana.

Key Points:

• The Chintan Shivir was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
• Chief ministers of 8 states and home ministers alonf with the deputy chief Home Secretaries and Director General of Police (DGPs) of the States, Director Generals of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Central Police Organisations (CPOs) also attended the Chintan Shivir.
• The purpose of the gathering was to develop an implementation strategy for Prime Minister Modi's recently unveiled Panch Pran and Vision 2047.
• It was organized under the spirit of cooperative federalism.
• It seeks to promote cooperation, coordination and collaboration between the central government and state governments to strengthen internal security.

One Nation, One Uniform:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Chintan Shivir pitched the idea of ‘one nation, one police uniform’ to promote a single uniform for all police in India.
• Right now, each state is free to choose its own designation or emblem.
• Currently, the majority of police forces wear khaki uniforms in various tones.
• A few states, including Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Kolkata, have white uniforms.
• The goal of "one nation, one uniform" is to provide law enforcement in India a uniform identity so that civilians may more easily recognise police officers throughout the nation.

What is Chintan Shivir of Home Ministers?

• The Chintan Shivir of Home Ministers is an endeavour to provide a national perspective to policy formulation on internal security-related matters, in accordance with the Panch Pran announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech.
• The Shivir, in the spirit of cooperative federalism, aims to bring more synergy in planning and coordination between various stakeholders at the centre and state levels.
• It will deliberate on issues like the modernisation of police forces, management of cybercrime, increased use of IT in the criminal justice system, land border management, coastal security, women’s safety, and drug trafficking etc.

National Unity Day 2022: Every year on October 31st, the nation observes National Unity Day, also known as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, to mark the birth anniversary of India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

This year marks the 147th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is also known as the Iron Man of India.

History:

• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced in 2014 that National Unity Day will be observed on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary to recognise his contribution to India's Independence and unity.
• The first Rashtriya Ekta Diwas event was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who flagged of a program, ‘Run for Unity’ in New Delhi in 2014.

Why is Rashtriya Ekta Divas celebrated?

• India is a country with many different cultures, faiths, traditions, and languages, therefore maintaining unity among people is crucial.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel rigorously promoted the idea of unity at a time when India was split into princely states and British India.
• Thus, National Unity Day is observed to honour Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's efforts to unify the nation.

Significance:

• This day is significant for the following reasons:
• National Unity Day serves as a reminder to Indian citizens of the struggles and sacrifices Sardar Patel and other activists made to bring India together.
• This day provides an opportunity to reaffirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation towards upholding the unity, integrity, and security of our country.
• Its goal is to reassert Indians' shared togetherness.
• The main objective of the celebration is to uplift the nation’s unity and spread awareness about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution to Indian history.

Note: The Government of India (GoI), in honour of Sardar Vallabhbha Patel, constructed the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near the Narmada River in Gujarat which symbolizes the strength of unity in India.

About Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel:

1. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31st October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat.
2. He was the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of independent India.
3. He played an important role in the integration of many Indian princely states to make an Indian federation.
4. At the time of independence, he played a key role in convincing several princely states to align with the Indian Union. He also worked hard as a social leader for the independence of India.
5. After the signing of the Gandhi–Irwin Pact, Patel was elected president of Congress for its 1931 session (Karachi).
6. Women of Bardoli bestowed the title ‘Sardar’ on Vallabhbhai Patel, which means ‘a Chief or a Leader’.
7. He is recognized as the real unifier of India for his colossal contribution to integrating and making India a united (Ek Bharat) and an independent nation.
8. He requested the people of India to live together by uniting in order to create Shresth Bharat (Foremost India).
9. He is also remembered as the ‘Patron saint of India’s civil servants as he established the modern all-India services system.
10. The Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in the Narmada district of Gujarat (2018) was built in his honour.

Tribal Youth exchange Programme: The 14th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme for the development of Tribal Youth was recently organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi.

Key Points:

• The Tribal Youth Exchange Programme has been organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan since 2006 for the development and main streaming of Tribal Youth in collaboration and financial support from Department of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India (GoI).
• 26 Tribal Youth Exchange Programmes are being organized by NYKS across the country during this financial year 2022-23
• The programme is aimed at sensitizing LWE Tribal Youth to Rich Cultural Heritage of India.
• Its aim is also to enable them to appreciate the concept of unity in diversity, expose them to development activities and industrial advancement and at help the tribal youth to develop emotional linkages with their peer groups in other part of the country and enhance their self-esteem.
• The key activities of programme include an interactive session with Constitutional authorities, dignitaries and eminent personalities, panel discussions, lecture sessions and activities under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The duration of each Tribal Youth exchange Programme is of 7 days.
• 220 selected youth in the age group of 18 to 22 years are participating in the programme from Left Wing Extremism-affected districts of Sukma and Rajnandgaon of Chhattisgarh, Jamui of Bihar and Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.
• The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur stated that the vision of Prime Minister Modi's Ek Baharat Shrestha Bharat must be taken forward and the government plans to send youth to different villages at the border and so that they can spend at least a day there at the occasion.

National Conference on Tourist Police Scheme: The national conference of director generals/inspector generals of police department of all states and Union territories “in connection with implementation of uniform Tourist Police Scheme at pan India level is being organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in co-ordination with Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).

Key Points:

• The agenda of the Conference is implementation of uniform Tourist Police Scheme at pan-India level in order to provide tourist-specific policing
• Its aim also includes providing safer ecosystem to the foreign and domestic tourists in and around tourist destinations.

About Tourist Police Scheme:

• Tourist Police Station will work under the jurisdiction of district police (Superintendent of Police) for all policing purpose.
• A pool of trained cops would be made available under the scheme to provide policing services to tourists and to manage crime at tourist attractions.
• The rules of the district police of the concerned state shall be applicable to the Tourist Police, unless the contrary appears from the content or from rules in this scheme.

Closure of COFMOW: The Railway Ministry recently announced the closure of Central Organization for Modernisation of Workshops (COFMOW) New Delhi.

It will come in effect from 1st December 2022.

Key Points:

• Keeping in line with the recommendations of the Principal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, on the rationalisation of government bodies, the Railway Board confirmed the winding up of the four-decade old organisation that contributed significantly towards the modernisation of workshops across the railway network.
• These recommendations were given in the Sanyal report from Sanjeev Sanyal, the then Principal Economic Advisor.
• From December 1st onwards, the centre’s functions would be undertaken by the Railway Board’s traction and rolling stock division. It will not be able to float tenders.
• Its active projects are to be taken up by the zonal railways and other railway divisions.
• The employees will be transferred to the respective Zonal Railways or Production Unit.
• The COFMOW officers will be transferred to other divisions.
• All non-gazetted posts would be surrendered and the staff released/repatriated/re-deployed somewhere else.
• Other major establishments that were wound up include SRESTHA (Special Railway Establishment for Strategic and Holistic Advancement) in Lucknow and IROAF (Indian Railways Organisation of Alternative Fuel) in New Delhi.
• The infrastructure and buildings of the organization will be handed over to the Railway Board by 30th November 2022.
• The recent decision comes a year after the decision to close down IRSDC (Indian Railway Station Development Corporation).
• In order to reform the railways and its more than 40 corporate undertakings and organisations, the Sanyal report recommended mergers and dissolutions.

Some recommendations include:

1. Merger of IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) and RailTel
2. Subsuming CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) under IRCTC
3. Closure of Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

About COFMOW:

• The Central Organization for Modernisation of Workshops (COFMOW) is a centre of excellence under the Indian Railways (IR).
• This public sector undertaking was established in 1979.
• The centre for modernizing the Indian Railways’ workshops was set up with funding support from the World Bank.
• Over the last 4 decades, this organisation acquired unmatched expertise in modernizing the production units and workshops.
• During this period, it had procured more than 24,707 machines, worth Rs.7,650 crore, and as a result, acquired expertise in setting specifications for equipment, machinery and plants to meet the clients’ requirements.

People In News

World Students’ Day 2022: World Students’ Day is celebrated on October 15 to mark the birth anniversary of former President APJ (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen) Abdul Kalam, a celebrated Aerospace scientist and former President of India.

Key Facts:

• 15th October 2022 marks the 91st Birth anniversary of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
• The day is marked to acknowledge his efforts toward students and education.
• Dr Kalam was born on October 15, 1931.
• He was a great teacher, an eminent scientist and a great statesman who served as the 11th President of India between 2002 and 2007.
• He served as an inspiration to many students to achieve and do something remarkable.
• After his tenure as the President came to an end, he became a visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Shillong, IIM-Indore and IIM- Ahmedabad.
• The former President believed: "The aim of the teacher should be to build character, human values, enhance the learning capacity of children through technology and build the confidence among children to be innovative and creative which in turn will make them competitive to face the future."

About the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam:

• Dr Kalam was born on October 15, 1931, to a Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the Madras Presidency and now in Tamil Nadu.
• Despite financial constraints, he completed his graduation in Physics and later studied Aerospace Engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.
• He worked as an aerospace scientist with the Indian space Research Organization (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
• He became India’s most famous nuclear scientist and was known as the ‘Missile Man of India’.
• Apart from his successful career as a scientist, President and academician, Dr Kalam was loved for his jovial personality.
• Brought up in a humble family, he wanted the world to remember him as a teacher.
• Dr. Kalam believed that students were the nation's future and that their forward-thinking minds can lead the nation to great success.
• He laid a strong focus on instilling essential values that one must uphold throughout one's life and giving them a vision for their own lives.
• He passed away on 27th July 2007 due to cardiac arrest during his lecture at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong, Meghalaya.

Significant Works:

• He played a crucial role in the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.
• During his five-year tenure as the country’s President, between 2002 to 2007, he was fondly called the ‘People’s President’.
• He also served as the project director of India's first satellite Launch Behicle (SLV-III) at ISRO.

Awards:

He was honoured with several recognitions including

1. Padma Bhushan (1981),
2. Padma Vibhushan (1990),
3. Bharat Ratna (1997),
4. Indira Gandhi award for National Integration (197),
5. Veer Sarvarkar Award (1998) and
6. Ramanujan Award.

Books:

Some of the famous books written by Dr. Kalam include

1. India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium
2. Wings of Fire: An Autobiography
3. Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India
4. Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges Forge your Future: Candid, Forthright, Inspiring

Important Note:

• The Swiss Government, in 2005, declared May 26th as its Science Day in honour of APJ Abdul Kalalm for his vast expertise in science and technology.
• Wheeler Island near the coast of Odisha was renamed as APJ Abdul Kalam Island to honour him.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha: India recently celebrated the 113th Birth anniversary of Homi Jehangir Bhabha also known as the father of the Indian nuclear program on 30 October.

Key Facts:

• His invaluable contributions to the field of science continue to inspire generations of young minds in the country.
• Bhabha died on January 24, 1966, when Air India Flight 101 crashed near near Mont Blanc.
• The official reason for the crash-A misunderstanding between Geneva Airport and the pilot about the aircraft’s position near the mountain.
• However, there are assassination claims like the involvement of a foreign intelligence agency to paralyse India’s nuclear program.

About Homi Jehangir Bhabha:

• Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born on 30 October 1909 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India).
• He was born into a prominent wealthy Parsi family.
• He was the founding director and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
• He was also the founding director of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET). It is now named the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour.
• TIFR and AEET were the cornerstones of Indian development of nuclear weapons and both were supervised by Bhabha as director.
• In 1942, Bhabha was awarded the Adams Prize and Padma Bhushan in 1954.
• In 1951 and 1953–1956, Bhabha was also nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Career of Homi Jehangir Bhabha:

• Bhabha, in January 1933, received his doctorate in nuclear physics after publishing his first scientific paper- “The Absorption of Cosmic radiation”.
• This very paper helped him win the Isaac Newton Studentship in 1934.
• There was no institute in India that had the necessary facilities for original work in nuclear physics and this prompted Bhabha to send a proposal in March 1944 to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust for establishing one.
• He is also known for formulating a strategy of focusing on extracting power from the country’s vast thorium reserves.
• It is pertinent to mention here India has meager uranium reserves.

Special Operation Medal: Union Home Minister’s “Special Operation Medal” for the year 2022 have been awarded for 4 Special Operations.

Key Facts:

Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal” for the Year- 2022 have been awarded to around 63 police officers from Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir for four special operations conducted by them in areas of terrorism, border action, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations.

The medals were awarded at the ‘Run For Unity’ event to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

About Union Home Minister’s “Special Operation Medal :

• The medal was constituted in 2018.
• It was constituted with the objective to recognize those operations, which have high degree of planning, high significance for the security of the country/State/UT and have significant impact on the security of larger sections of the society.
• The award shall be conferred for Special Operation in the areas such as counter terrorism, border action, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations.
• All recommendations for the award is sent to the MHA within three months of the special operation.
• It is announced on 31st of October every year.
• In a year, normally 3 Special Operations are considered for the award and in extra ordinary circumstances; the award may be given up to 5 Special Operations to encourage State/UT Police.

Anna May Wong: Late Hollywood actress and fashion icon Anna May Wong (1905-1961) is set to become the first Asian American to feature on US currency.

Key Points:

• The fifth coin in the American Women Quarters (AWQ) Program, a quarter-dollar coin with a close-up depiction of Wong's face chin resting on her palm, recently went into circulation.
• The coin also has the Latin words "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (out of many, one).
• In addition to the hard work, perseverance, and expertise that Anna May Wong offered to the acting industry, her countenance and expressive mannerisms captured spectators.
• Her decades-long vocation in cinema, films, television, and the theater is regarded as exemplary.

About Anna May Wong:

1. Anna May Wong (1905-1961) birth name was Wong Liu-Tsong.
2. She was born to second-generation Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles.
3. Wong started her film career at the age of 14 as an extra in The Red Lantern (1919).
4. She gained critical acclaim only three years later when she played the leading role in The Toll of the Sea (1922), one of the first Technicolour films.
5. She was also the first Asian American leading actor in a television show, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951).

American Women Quarters Program:

• The American Women Quarters Program is a four-year program that celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women to the development and history of U.S.A.
• Beginning in 2022, and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue up to five new reverse designs each year.
• The American Women Quarters may feature contributions from a variety of fields, suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts.
• The women honored will be from ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds.

2022 Booker Prize: Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka has been named the winner of Britain's Booker Prize 2022 for fiction for his work "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida", about a journalist murdered amid the country's sectarian strife.

Key Points:

• Karunatilaka’s second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida comes more than a decade after his debut, Chinaman, which was published in 2011.
• The novel is based on the murder of a war photographer in Colombo in the 1990s and examines life after death in a civil war-torn Sri Lanka.
• The "ambition of its scale, and the humorous daring of its storytelling tactics," were praised by the judges.
• The novel was chosen because “it’s a book that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death right to what the author describes as the dark heart of the world”.
• Karunatilaka, 47, is the second Sri Lankan to win the award, following Michael Ondaatje’s victory in 1992 for “The English Patient”.
• Karunatilaka received a trophy from Queen Consort Camilla at the English language literary award's first in-person ceremony since 2019. He also gets a 50,000-pound ($56,810) prize.
• This year's shortlist of Booker Prize contenders included British author Alan Garner's "Treacle Walker", Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo's "Glory", "Small Things Like These" by Irish writer Claire Keegan, U.S. author Percival Everett's "The Trees" and "Oh William!" by U.S. author Elizabeth Strout.

About Booker Prize:

• The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• The winner of the Booker Prize receives international publicity which usually leads to a sales boost.
• It was established in 1969 with an objective to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English.
• When the prize was created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African (and later Zimbabwean) citizens were eligible to receive the prize but in 2014 it was widened to any English-language novel.
• A five-person panel constituted by authors, librarians, literary agents, publishers, and booksellers is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation each year to choose the winning book

Eligibility:

• The Booker Prize awards any novel originally written in English and published in the UK and Ireland in the year of the prize, regardless of the nationality of their author.
• The novel must be an original work in English (not a translation)
• It must be published by a registered UK or Irish imprint; self-published novels are not eligible.

Prize Money:

• The winner receives £50,000 as well as the £2,500 awarded to each of the shortlisted authors.
• In this case, thanks to the award being shared, the prize money would be split between the two winners.

Organizations involved:

The Booker Prize Foundation:

• It is a registered charity established in 2002.
• Since then it has been responsible for the award of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and for the Man Booker International Prize since its inauguration in 2005.

Man Group:

• Man Group is an active investment management firm founded in 1783.
• It has sponsored the Man Booker Prize since 2002.

Places In News

C-295 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30th Ocotber 2022 laid the groundwork for the C-295 aircraft manufacturing plant in Vadodara, Gujaratto strengthen the logistic capabilities of the Indian Air Force. 

• PM Modi was also felicitated and presented with a memento by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel and Tata Sons Chairperson N Chandrasekaran.

Key Points:

• The project is worth around 22,000 crore rupees.
• It is the first of its kind in which C-295MW transport aircraft will be manufactured in India by private companies, Airbus Defence and TATA consortium.
• In a big boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India and domestic aviation manufacturing, 40 aircraft will be manufactured in the country.
• 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition while 40 aircraft will be manufactured in Vadodara by Airbus Defence and TATA consortium.
• All these 56-transport aircraft will be fitted with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite.

Significance:

• The C-295MW transport aircraft manufacturing project, with a capacity of 5 to 10 tons,   will strengthen the Indian Air Force and create an entirely new ecosystem for the domestic aviation sector.
• The new aircraft can also be used for civilian purposes.
• It will replace the ageing Avro aircraft.
• The transport aircraft manufacturing facility is expected to generate several skilled and indirect jobs.
• It is estimated that 600 highly skilled jobs and more than three thousand indirect jobs will be generated.

Background:

• In September 2021, Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space SA.

2021 PMAY-U Awards: In the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) awards 2021, Uttar Pradesh bagged the first position followed by Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at second and third place, respectively.

Key Points:

• The 2021 Awards are the 2nd edition of these awards.
• The 100 Days Challenge spanned between 21st June and 30th September of 2021.
• The 2021 PMAY-U Awards were conferred at the event organized in Rajkot, Gujarat.

2021 PMAY-U Awards Winners:

• Among the states, the top performers are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu.

The top performing states for the 2019 awards were Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

• Among the northeastern and hilly states, Tripura emerged as the top performer.

The state had won an award for 2019 as well.

• Jammu and Kashmir and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu were adjudged as the ‘Best Performing UT’.
• Among the CLTCs (City Level Technical Cells), the top performers are Dewas, Gohad and Jobat in Madhya Pradesh.
• Gujarat won five special category awards.

About PMAY-U Award:

• The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs established the PMAY-U Award for Implementation and Innovation under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban in 2019.

• The Mission will be implemented during 2015-2022 by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to address the housing shortage in India’s urban areas.
• Its goal is to construct 1.12 crore housing units by 2022.
• Of these, 80 lakh houses have been grounded and 48 lakh houses are already completed.

• This award is conferred to recognize the efforts by the states, UTs and urban local bodies towards achieving the scheme’s objectives.

• There are 3 broad categories of these awards:

• State Awards,
• Municipal Corporations,
• Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats Awards
• Special Category Awards
• Beneficiary Awards

100 Days Challenge:

• Under this initiative, a 100 Days Challenge was started to promote healthy competition among the states, UTs and ULBs.
• In this challenge, their performances on some pre-defined indicators over a 100-day period are assessed.
• Their performance in the challenge has 50% weightage for the award.
• Some of the parameters for evaluation are –

• 100 Days Challenge (50% weightage), Implementation of the Scheme (25% weightage),
• Outreach and Transparency (15% weightage) and
• Institutional Architecture for the Scheme (10% weightage).

Blue Beaches Certification: Two beaches in Lakshadweep have recently received international eco-label “Blue Flag”.

Key Points:

• The two beaches are Minicoy Thundi Beach and Kadmat Beach.
• The Thundi Beach is one of the most pristine and picturesque beaches in the Lakshadweep archipelago where white sand is lined by the turquoise-blue water of the lagoon. It is a paradise for swimmers and tourists alike.
• The Kadmat Beach is especially popular with cruise tourists who visit the island for water sports.
• These two beaches have a dedicated staff to maintain cleanliness and provide safety and security for swimmers.
• Both the beaches comply with all the 33 criteria as mandated by the Foundation for Environment Education (FEE).
• With these new entrants, now there are 12 Blue beaches in India.

Other Indian beaches with Blue Tag Certification:

• Other beaches in the blue list are Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden beach (Odisha), Radhanagar (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Kovalam (Tamil Nadu) and Eden (Puducherry).
• In 2021, the certification was given to Kovalam beach in Tamil Nadu and Eden beach in Puducherry.
• Golden Beach in Odisha, Puri was the first Indian as well as Asia's first Blue Flag certified beach. A 30-km stretch of the Marina Beach in Chennai is currently being developed for receiving Blue Flag Beach certification for which the government has allocated Rs.100 crore for the implementation of this project.

What is Blue Flag Certification?

• The Blue Beach certificate is given by Copenhagen, Denmark based organization Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
• It is an eco-label awarded to the cleanest beaches in the world.
• It is obtained by a beach, marina or sustainable boating tourism operators in the FEE member countries.
• The beaches have to meet the about 33 stringent requirements or criteria which includes environmental, educational, access and safety-related criteria.
• The blue flag certification is seen as an indicator for high environmental and quality standards of beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism.
• The Blue Flag programme was initiated in 1985 to promote sustainable development in freshwater and marine areas through four main criteria –

1. Water quality,
2. Environmental management,
3. Environmental education and
4. Environmental safety.

• It was expanded to include areas outside Europe in 2001.

About FEE:

• The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmental organization headquartered in Denmark.
• Its goal is to promote sustainable development through environmental education.
• It is implementing five programmes –

1. Blue Flag,
2. Eco-Schools,
3. Young Reporters for Environment,
4. Learning About Forests (LEAF) and
5. Green Key International.

• It currently has 77-member countries.

Asia’s largest Compressed Bio Gas plant: The largest Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Asia was recently inaugurated in Lehragaga, Punjab, by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.

• The Sangrur facility is just the start of India's master plan for a CBG-based rural economy, and the administration is making every effort to support the ecology in the area.

Key Points:

• The Lehragaga compressed bio gas (CBG) facility was constructed at the cost of Rs.230 crore over 20 acres of land.
• The project was commissioned with a foreign direct investment (FDI) of Verbio AG which is one of the leading bio-energy companies in Germany.
• Currently, the CBG plant has the capacity to process 6 tonnes of paddy straw daily.
• Later on, this capacity will be increased to 300 tonnes of paddy straw per day in order to generate 33 TPD of compressed biogas utilizing eight digesters with a combined capacity of 10,000 cubic metres.
• It will address the issue of stubble burning in the state.
• The CBG plant is expected to consume 100,000 tonnes of paddy straw, which will be procured from 6 to 8 satellite locations within a 10 km radius of the plant.
• It will produce 600-650 Tons of FOM (fermented organic manure) each day.
• The manure will then be used for organic farming.
• The plant will provide direct employment to 390 people and indirect employment to 585 people.
• This project will boost the income of farmers in the Sangrur district.
• It will prevent stubble burning on 40,000 – 45,000 acres of land which in turn will in cutting down 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year.
• The new CBG plant is a step in the direction of SATAT's (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) objectives.

SATAT scheme:

• The Government of India (GoI) launched the SATAT scheme in 2018 to set up the Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants across the nation by inviting expressions of interest through potential investors.
• The CBG will be used for the automotive sector.
• The scheme aims to empower and liberate the rural economy by assisting farmers, boosting domestic energy production and self-sufficiency in India, reducing air pollution, and assisting India in taking the lead globally in the transition to clean energy.
• Apart from this plant, the SATAT programme has resulted in the commissioning of 38 CBG or biogas plants.

About CBG:

• Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) is produced naturally through the process of anaerobic decomposition of biomass sources like crop residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.
• It has the potential to replace Compressed Natural Gas in automotive, industrial, and commercial uses in the future.

Odisha’s common credit portal-SAFAL: The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik recently launched the common credit portal SAFAL to increase farmers’ access to loans.

Full form of SAFAL is "Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans".

About SAFAL:

• SAFAL is India’s first online agricultural credit facilitation portal.
• This common credit portal makes it easier to acquire over 300 term loan products provided for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.
• These term loan products will be provided by more than 40 partner banks.

Benefits of the SAFAL portal:

• The portal acts as a one-stop solution for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to access loans offered by-

• Public and private sector banks,
• Regional rural banks,
• State cooperative banks and
• Small finance banks.

• It can simplify the loan application procedure, benefiting both the banks and farmers.
• It will reduce information asymmetry by notifying real-time notification about the status of the loan to farmers at every stage of the loan application.
• It will also benefit the government by providing complete visibility of demand and disbursal of formal agricultural credit across states.
• In the future, this information will be used to develop government policies and programmes that are supported by facts.
• The portal will make agricultural financing more accessible, which in turn will promote farmer productivity and agribusiness expansion.
• This portal has been integrated with Krushak Odisha.
• It has access to more than 70 model project reports

About Krushak Odisha Portal:

• Krushak Odisha is an authentic database of farmers in the state, including small, marginal, and landless cultivators and agricultural labourers.
• It offers details about the farmers' home, property, crops grown there, livestock raised there, and fisheries participated therein.
• This information is verified by government extension workers.
• The database aims to save paperwork for farmers and make government services and programmes easier to access.
• The integration of Krushak Odisha portal with SAFAL portal will ensure that the banks get authentic information about farmers who are applying for credit facilities.

Science and Technology

Mock Meat: Recently, the meat and seafood retailer Licious forayed into the marketing of “mock” chicken and mutton under a new ‘UnCrave’ brand.

About Plant-based meat & dairy:

“Plant-based” refers to products that bio-mimic or replicate meat, seafood, milk, and eggs derived from animals — by looking, smelling, and tasting like them.

• The variety includes mutton samosas, chicken nuggets, momos, fries, etc.
• Plant-based dairy products include ice-cream that isn’t simply frozen dessert that replaces milk fat with vegetable oil.
• Even the proteins and other solids-not-fat ingredients are sourced from plants.

As for plant-based dairy, the main products are milk from soyabean, coconut, oats, almond, and rice.

• Among these, oat milk is considered the closest to regular milk in taste and texture.

How are these made?

• Animal meat contains protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water, just like plants.

• This biochemical similarity allows for finding analogues in the plant kingdom or making them through mechanical, chemical, or biological treatment of such ingredients.
• The challenge lies in replicating muscle tissue that plants don’t have.
• The unique spatial arrangement of proteins in these tissues is what creates the distinct texture of animal meat.
• That’s why plant-based mutton samosas, kebabs or keema, having a simpler texture, are easier to make than larger whole cuts of animal meat such as pork chops andchicken breasts.

• As for plant-based dairy, the main products are milk from oats, almond, soyabean, coconut, and rice.

• Among these, oat milk is considered the closest to regular milk in taste and texture.
• It is also thicker and creamier, as oats absorb more water than nuts or rice during soaking, and more of the grain gets strained for incorporation into the final product.

Scope in India – meat & milk:

• Plant-based meat does not have much of a future in India because of the country's sizable vegetarian population.
• Plant-based meat can have only a niche market relevant for the top 1%.”
• The majority of Indians naturally enjoy milk,which is a classic “superior food”.
• Both milk (which includes curd, butter, ghee, ice-cream and other dairy products) and, to a lesser extent, meat (which includes prawn and fish) are superior foods — unlike sugar and cereals, whose share in the value of consumption reduces with increasing incomes, making them “inferior foods”.
• Since milk is regarded as a healthy food in India, digestive issues like lactose intolerance aren't seen as being that serious.
• "Real milk cannot be matched by plant-based beverages in terms of nutrients, flavour, or price.

Viral Spillover Risks: A new research found that in the next years, there may be an increased danger of "viral spillover" in some areas due to climate change in several parts of the world.

Key Points:

• This could cause pandemics over the next few years.
• This new research titled “Viral spillover risk increases with climate change in High Arctic lake sediments was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the biological research journal of the UK’s The Royal Society.
• Scientists have long warned that a warming planet may increase the burden of diseases.
• But climate change might also usher in entirely new diseases, by allowing pathogens to move into new host species.

Key Points related to the study:

• The University of Ottawa researchers gathered sediment and soil samples from Lake Hazen in Canada, the largest High Arctic lake in terms of volume, in order to examine the potential for a viral spillover.
• High Arctic was chosen for this study since it is warming faster than the rest of the world.
• In order to reconstitute the virus composition in the lake area and calculate the risks of viral spillover, the researchers sequenced the RNA and DNA.
• In this study, while it was found that the risk of viral spillovers increases with changes in the environment at a particular location, driven by global warming, this by itself does not guarantee a higher possibility of a pandemic occurring via viruses here.
• This is because viral spillover depends on three main categories –

1. Pathogen pressure,
2. Human and vector behaviors and
3. attributes of the host.

• Dramatic occurrences are unlikely as long as viruses and their "bridge vectors," which serve as hosts and promote their propagation, are not both present at the same time in the environment.
• As recent simulations have shown, climate change causes changes in species' ranges and distributions. Additionally, new relationships may form, bringing with them potential vectors for mediating viral spillovers.
• Coronaviruses successfully overcame these barriers since they are RNA viruses capable of evolving more quickly than other virus families because of their ability to recombine and acquire point mutations.
• Other pathogens that have successfully spilled over to humans are eBOLA AND Influenza A.

Viral spillover:

• Viruses are some of the most abundant entities on earth, but they need to infect a host’s cell in order to replicate.
• According to the research, these virus/host relationships seem relatively stable within superkingdoms, the major groupings of organisms.
• However, below this rank, viruses may infect a new host from a reservoir host (in which it usually resides) by being able to transmit sustainably in a novel host – a process defined as ‘viral spillover’.

WHO FPPL: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released the first-ever fungal priority pathogens list (WHO FPPL) that can be a threat to public health.

Key Points related to WHO FPPL:

• The WHO FPPL is the first-ever list of fungi that are recognized as “priority pathogens”.
• Fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) includes 19 fungi that are considered to be the greatest public health threat.
• The FPPL is the first global effort to systematically prioritize fungal pathogens, with consideration to the unmet research and development requirements and the perceived global public health importance.
• The list is based on the bacterial priority pathogens list, which was first created by WHO in 2017 with a similar goal of mobilizing attention and action on a worldwide scale.

Aim:

• It aims to boost research and policy interventions to strengthen the international response to fungal infection and antifungal resistance.

How is the WHO FPPL list divided?

1. The WHO FPPL list is divided into three categories based on the pathogen’s public health impact or emerging antifungal resistance risk.
2. Critical Priority Group: It includes Candida auris, which is a highly drug-resistant fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans.
3. High Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi from the Candida family as well as others such as Mucorales, a group containing "black fungus", an infection which rose rapidly in seriously ill people, particularly in India, during Covid-19.
4. Medium Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi, including Coccidioides spp and Cryptococcus gattii.

Why are fungal pathogens a global threat?

• Fungal pathogens are increasingly becoming a threat to public health as they are becoming more common and highly resistant to treatment.
• Currently, only four classes of antifungal medicines are available, and very few new ones are currently being tested.
• Rapid and sensitive diagnostic tools are absent for most of the fungal pathogens. Invasive forms of fungal pathogens are severely affecting immunocompromised people like patients suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, chronic respiratory disease, and post-primary tuberculosis infection and organ transplant.
• Currently, incidences and geographical range of fungal diseases are expanding because of global warming and the rapid growth of international travel and trade.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the reported incidence of invasive fungal infections  increased because of the increase in hospitalization.
• Risks for the emergence of more invasive forms of diseases in the general population are rising along with the resistance of the fungi that cause common infections (such candida oral and vaginal thrush) to treatment.

Why is there a lack of quality data on fungal diseases?

• Despite the growing instances of fungal infections and antifungal resistance, little attention and resources are allocated to respond to them.
• This has resulted in the scarcity of data on fungal disease distribution and antifungal resistance patterns.
• Thus, the burden of fungal diseases and antifungal resistance is not known and the required government response is absent.

Population at Risk:

• Those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory diseases, and post-primary tuberculosis infection are among the populations most at risk for invasive fungal infections.
• Patients with severe illnesses and those who have serious underlying immune system-related problems are frequently affected by these fungus infections.

Recommended Actions by FPPL Report:

• Strengthening laboratory capacity and surveillance.
• Sustaining investments in research, development, and innovation.
• Enhancing public health interventions for prevention and control.

Sports

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022: Spain has retained the crown after narrow 1-0 win against Colombia in final.

Key Highlights:

• Spain beat Colombia in the final of the U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup after they beat Colombia by 1-0 at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on October 30, 2022.
• Spain emerged the winners after an own goal by Colombian defender Ana María Guzmán Zapata in the 82nd minute.
• FIFA President Gianni Infantino, alongside the top officials from the Asian Football Federation (AFC) and the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), attended the venue as Spain managed a solitary goal win and successfully retained the World Cup title which they also claimed in 2018.

Note: Morocco and Tanzania, along with host India, made their debuts in the tournament.

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup:

• The 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
• It is a multinational-international women’s youth football championship that is contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in the year 2008.
• With the conclusion of the U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup, India have successfully organized the tournament that was held in different cities across the nation.
• It was the second time that India have been hosting a FIFA tournament, after the men's 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the first time that India hosting a FIFA women's football tournament.

Background:

• India were originally selected as hosts of the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on 15 March 2019.
• On 17 November 2020, FIFA announced that the 2020 edition of the tournament would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, India were appointed as hosts of the next edition of the tournament in 2022.
• On 16 August 2022, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, or AIFF, was suspended by FIFA due to undue influence from third parties.
• As a result, the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was stripped from India, as FIFA assessed the next steps when it came to hosting the tournament.
• On 26 August 2022, the AIFF were reinstated by FIFA due to the AIFF administration regaining control of daily affairs.
• As a result, the tournament will be going ahead as planned.

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Mascot: Tazuni, a fun, football-loving penguin was recently unveiled as the Official Mascot of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

Key Points:

• Tazuni will become an important symbol for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand, appearing on official tournament merchandise and media platforms, as well as in real life in community activities ahead of the event.
• The design is based on the Eudyptula minor species found in both host countries, and the name combines the Tasman Sea and the word ‘Unity’.
• Tazuni is a 15-year-old midfielder whose story involves her falling in love with football after playing with a group of children on a beach.
• The name Tazuni is a fusion of the Tasman sea, the home of penguins and Unity, which is the key value of the event.

About FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023:

• The 2023 FIFA Women’s World cup will be the 9th edition in the series and this is the first time that 2 nations co­host the tournament.
• The tournament will be split between Australia and New Zealand and in total, there will be 64 games played across 10 different venues in 9 different cities (5 in Australia and four 4 in New Zealand).

Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022: World champion from Norway Magnus Carlsen sealed the overall Meltwater Champions Chess Tour title for the second year running with a tournament to spare.

Key Highlights:

• He defeated Arjun Erigaisi in the quarter-finals of the 8th and penultimate event of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour with a convincing 2.5-1.5 result.
• The 31-year-old, Carlsen secured the title of the tour champion and a $50.000 prize on top of his overall winnings (so far) of $192.000.
• He had to work in the opening game of his quarter-final match as Erigaisi played some of his best chess against the champ to go three pawns up and set up a seemingly easy win.
• Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated Vidit Santosh Gujrathi in the quarter-finals and will play against the World Chess Champion in the semi-finals of the Aimchess rapid.
• The second semi-final match will be played between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Richard Rapport as they sealed victories against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh D (respectively).

Nation Games 2022-Sub-13s Hurdles: Jyothi Yarraji recently made history in the women's 100m hurdles by becoming the first Indian woman to run a sub-13s time to win the gold medal at the Nation Games 2022.

Key Points:

• Jyothi Yarraji broke her national record representing Andhra Pradesh by running the final in 12.79s.
• Earlier, she won the women’s 100m gold, leaving behind Sprinters lime Dutee Chand and Hima Das.

National Open Athletics Championships 2022:

• The National Open Athletics Championships 2022 is the last senior domestic competition of the season which is held at the Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore.
• There are more than 800 participants from across the country to compete in 47 medal events at the five-day meet.
• The competition will be concluded on 19th October 2022.
• The events include race walking (men’s and women’s), discus throw, long jump, shot put, heptathlon, hurdles, javelin throw, pole vault, etc.

ISSF World Championship: Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil recently won gold in men’s 10m air rifle event in Cairo, Egypt in the ISSF World Championship.

Key Points:

• With this win, he also secured a 2024 Paris Olympics quota for the country.
• He defeated Danillo Sollazo of Italy to win the gold medal match 17–13.
• He is only the second Indian to achieve the feat after Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, who had won gold in this event in 2006 in Zagreb, Croatia.
• This was Rurankksh’s first appearance at a World Championship.
• Earlier, India won a bronze medal in the women’s 25m pistol team junior competition.
• The trio of Esha Singh, Naamya Kapoor, and Vibhuti Bhatia demolished team Germany 17-1 in the bronze medal match.

Current Affairs October 27 to November 02

Economics

National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards : It is an award instituted in 2017 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India to recognize companies that have made a positive impact on the society through their innovative & sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) initiatives. The awards were instituted subsequent to the recommendations of High Level Committee on CSR.
President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the first National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards (NCSRA) to companies for their outstanding contribution in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
President Kovind Presented the first National Corporate Social Responsibility(CSI) Awards to selected companies at an award ceremony in New Delhi. 
The main objesives of the awards are to encourage best practices in CSR and to recognise the efforts of companies that have utilised funds marked for CSR innovatively and effectively. Recognise impact, usage of technology, innovation, gender and environment issues, scalability, replicability and sustainability of CSR activities. Chanalise CSR initiatives of corporate so that the benefits of these activities reach in remote areas of country and to marginalised sections of society.
The awards to winning companies are in two categories namely,'Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR' and 'Contribution of CSR in Challenging Circumstances'.

Reliance Industries Ltd : It is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Reliance owns businesses across India engaged in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail, and telecommunications.
Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), overtook British oil major BP Plc in terms of market capitalisation to become the sixth-largest energy entity in the world. RIL is a partner of British major BP in its exploration and production ventures in India. The two companies operate an equal joint venture (JV) called India Gas Solutions. Both the companies are planning to partner to set up fuel retail outlets. The companies also plan to invest Rs.40,000 crore in the Krishna Godavari block. The project is expected to begin its production 2022.
At present, Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest energy entity, that pumps about 10% of the world's crude. It has emerged as the most profitable company in 2018. 

DPIIT : It refers to The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It has launched a new exercise to relax India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) norms. The decision was made in an inter-ministerial meeting held at DPIIT to discuss further opening up in sectors, especially where 100% FDI is not allowed on the automatic route. Earlier, the government had opened FDI in contract manufacturing and eased norms for overseas investors in single-brand retail and coal mining.
Foreign direct investment is prohibited in nine sectors namely betting and gambling icluding casinos,chit funds, lottery business, trading in transferable development rights, construction of farmhouses or real estate business, Nidhi companies, manufacturing of cheroots,cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes, atomic energy, and certain railway operations. India also prohibits foreign technology collaboration in any form including licensing for franchise, trademark, management contract or brand name for lottery,gambling and betting activities.

Environment & Climate

Nelloptodes gretae : It is a tiny species of beetle from Coleoptera family Ptiliidae. The beetle is pale yellow and gold in colour. It measures 0.79 millimetres long. It has no eyes or wings, and is distinguishable by a small pit found between where the eyes should go. Usually found in the leaf litter and soil, they feed on fungal hyphae and spores. It is an anthropod.
British entomologist William Block discovered this beetle for the first time in Nairobi, Kenya and donated the samples to the British Natural History Museum in 1978. The tiny beetle was named Nelloptodes gretae recently to honour 16-year-old Swedish climate activist’s ‘outstanding contribution’ in raising global awareness of climate change.

COP 25 : The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, is to be the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference. The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) summit is a key event which allows representatives from around 200 nations to monitor and discuss the current situation of the world’s warming climate. 
The Spanish capital city of Madrid will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) from 2 to 13 December. It was first supposed to be hosted by Chile but due to the ongoing street protests in the South American country it was decided to he hosted in Madrid. 

World's most polluted city : According to the Guinness World Records 2020 Analysis of a World Health Organization report, the city Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh is the most polluted city in the world. A report by World Health Organization (WHO) analyzed that with an average PM2.5 level of 173 micrograms per m3 for 2016, pollution in the city is over 17 times higher than the WHO recommended maximum of 10 micrograms per m3.
PM2.5s are very small particles such as dust,soot and ash, prolonged exposure to which can cause cancer, lung and heart conditions. Of the world’s 20 most PM2.5-polluted cities, 14 are in India. The PM2.5 particles are emitted directly from a source, like unpaved roads, construction sites, fields, fires or smokestacks  while most particles in the atmosphere form due to complex chemical reactions like SO2 and NO2, which are pollutants emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles.
 

Indian Policy

Central Government : The Central government has formed a panel to suggest measures to mitigate financial stress in the sector. It was formed after Supreme Court ordered telecom companies to pay as much as Rs 1.42 trillion in past statutory dues. The panel will consist of The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) which is comprised fo the ministries of finance, telecommunication and law among others.
The CoS will give suggestions for the ways of tackling the financial stress in the telecom sector and for deferring of payments for spectrum as well as re-look at the obligation to fund a universal service fund for operators.The panel has to submit recommendations in a time-bound manner and it has to also  re-look at the obligation to fund a universal service fund for operators. 

National Pension System : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has permitted Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) to enrol in NPS. They will now  be eligible to apply for the National Pension System at par with Non Resident Indians (NRIs).
According to a notification by the Department of Economic Affairs on Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, the OCIs may subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) which is being governed and administered by PFRDA.
 Overseas citizens of India who are willing to subscribe NPS is eligible to invest as per the provisions of the PFRDA Act and the accumulated saving will be repatriable, subject to Foreign Exchange Management Act guidelines.
PFRDA in its endeavor to promote and develop the NPS has taken several initiatives towards increasing the pension coverage in the country. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years.
PFRDA runs two pension schemes -- NPS and Atal Pension Yojana -- whereas the former caters to the government and organised sector employees, the latter is mainly for the workers in the unorganised sector.

Indian polity

Parliament of India : The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and the two houses that is, the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and the Lok Sabha(lower house). It was founded in 26 January 1950.
 
Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha Shri  M Venkaiah Naidu unveiled the 15-point reform charter for a new political concept to ensure effective functioning of the Legislatures in the Parliament and in the  State, so that the peoples respect for the democratic institution can be sustained. The 15-point charter was unveiled during the delivery of first Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture on Strengthening of Parliamentary Institutions in the Country at Delhi University. The charter was created keeping in view the poor attendence in legislatures and the quality of debate in the Parliament.

Features of the Charter are :- 
* Pre and post-legislative impact assessment of the parties should be done.
* It includes a ship system which is an official of a political party whose work is to ensure party discipline in a legislature.
* Establishment of special courts for time-bound adjudication of criminal cases against legislators.
* Addressing problem of rising number of legislators with criminal backgound.
* Reviewing of anti-defection law.
* Representation of women in legislatures should be increased.
* The government in power to be responsive to the opposition and opposition to be responsible and constructive while working in parliament.
* A consensus should be built on holding simultaneous elections
* Rules should be framed against the interruptions and disruptions by misbehaving members.
* The legislatures should abide by the rules of the house.
* Concrete steps to be taken for the effective functioning of the Parliamentary Committees.
* All parties should adopt a roster system to ensure that atleast 50 per cent of their members are present.
* The secretariats of legislatures should publish a regular attendance report of members during the proceedings of the house.

Sharad Arvind Bobde : Bobde comes from a Nagpur-based lawyers’ family. His father Arvind Bobde was advocate-general of Maharashtra and his elder brother late Vinod Arvind Bobde a renowned senior advocate of Supreme Court and a constitutional expert. He completed his graduation at SFS College Nagpur and studied Law at Nagpur University in 1978. He is a former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. He is also serving as the Chancellor of University of Delhi and Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Bar Council of Maharashtra in 1978. He had practised law at Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court with appearances at Bombay before Principal Seat and before Supreme Court for over 21 years. He became a Senior Advocate in 1998. He was appointed as an additional judge of Bombay High Court in March 2000 and sworn in as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in October 2012.  Sharad Arvind Bobde, born 24 April 1956, was elevated is a Judge of the Supreme Court of India in April 2013.

President Ram Nath Kovind under Article 124 of the Constitution of India appointed Justice SA Bobde, the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court after CJI Ranjan Gogoi, as the next Chief Justice of India. He will take oath as the CJI on November 18th. He will be the 47th CJI and  will hold office till April 23, 2021.

Article 124(2) : Article 124(2) of the Indian Constitution provides that the Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President after consultation with such number of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose.

Postal Ballot : It is a voting system in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed to electors or returned by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system.
The Government has provided the facility to the elderly and disabled voters above 80 years to vote with the postal ballot. On the recommendation of the Election Commission, the Law and justice Ministry amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961,  to give voting and ballot voting to voters with disabilities and those above 80 years of age allowing the senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list. 
The current system  entitled  military, paramilitary personnel and government employees working abroad, as well as employees posted in election duty only to vote with the postal ballot. 

International

India and Germany : German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit to India to co-chair the fifth Biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 November 2019. The Chancellor was accompanied by several Ministers and State Secretaries of Federal Government, as well as a high-powered business delegation. India and Germany have signed 17 MoUs in the fields of agriculture, maritime technology, ayurveda and yoga among others. Five joint declarations of intent which included cooperation on strategic projects, partnership for green urban mobility, development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cooperation to prevent marine litter were also exchanged between both the countries.

List of Agreements/ MoUs signed on the sidelines

1. Implementing Arrangement for Exchange of Personnel between ISRO and German Aerospace Centre

2. Joint Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Civil Aviation

3. Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Cooperation within the International Smart Cities Network

4. Joint Declaration of Intent between on Cooperation in the Field of Skills Development and Vocational Education and Training

5. Declaration of Intent on Strengthening Economic Cooperation in the field of Start-ups

6. Joint Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of Bilateral Cooperation Project regarding Agricultural Market Development

7. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Occupational Diseases, Re-habilitation and vocational training of Insured Persons & workers with disabilities

8. Memorandum of Understanding For Cooperation in Inland, Coastal and Maritime Technology

9. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote, establish and expand scientific and technological research cooperation

10. MoU on Establishment of an Academic Collaboration in Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation

11. Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Germany on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education for Extension of the period of Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education

12. MoU between National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management MANAGE and the German Agricultural Academy DEULA in the city of Nienburg on collaboration in agricultural technical and professional training

13. Joint Declaration of Intent between Siemens Limited, India and MSDE and German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on Skills for Sustainable Growth

14. MoU on the Extension of Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education

15. Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation between the National Museum, the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Indian Museum Kolkata, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum in Berliner Schloss

16. Memorandum of Understanding between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and DeutscherFußball-Bund e.V (DFB)

17. Statement of Intent on the key elements of the Indo-German Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.

India and Saudi Arabia : India and Saudi Arabia have signed MoU to launch RuPay card in the country. It was signed during Prime Minisiter Modi recent visit to the kingdom. The signing of the MoU will benefit not only 2.6 million Indians in Gulf Kingdom but also pilgrims visiting Haj and Umrah.
The launch of the Rupay card has made Suadi Arabia the third nation in West Asia to initiate India’s digital payment system.  India has already launched RuPay card in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Bhutan and Singapore.

Rupay Card : It is a card scheme, conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India on 26 March 2012. It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions. RuPay is India’s version of Master Card and Visa and is also a highly secure network that protects against cyberhacks. So as to internationally accepted, the RuPay has tied-up with international players such as China Union Pay,Discover and Japan Credit Bureau.

Uzbekistan : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on his three-day visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan attended the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He was received by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov at the SCO meeting. 
He also paid floral tributes at the statue of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on Shastri Street who had passed away in Tashkent on January 11, 1966.
The leaders participating in the meeting focusssed their discussions on multilateral economic cooperation in the SCO region. This was the third Council of Heads of Government meeting after India became a member of the SCO.

National

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas: It is also known as National Unity Day. It was introduced by the Government of India in 2014. The official statement for Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was provided by the Home Ministry of India. It cites that the National Unity Day “will provide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country.” The day is celebrated to mark the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. He was honoured with the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue approximately 182 metres (597 ft) in height dedicated to him. 
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel : The Iron Man of India, also known as the Loh Purush, Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875. He is also popularly known as Sardar Patel and was one of the most known Indian politicians after Independence.  Sardar Patel served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India under Prime Minister Shri Jawarharlal Nehru. He is most popularly known as a founding father of the Republic of India  because he played a significant role in integrating the independent provinces into a unified India just after the partition. He also acted as Home Minister during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tribute to Sardar Patel at the  'Statue of Unity' at Kevadiya in Gujarat. Several places in India held Run for Unity event in order to celebrate the National Unity Day on October 31,2019.

Border Personnel Meeting : It is a meeting conducted every year on the 30th of October since the Border Peace and Tranquility agreement was signed between India and China on 7 September 1993.
Border Peace and Tranquility agreement : It is an agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas. This agreement provides the framework for border security between the parties until final determination is made regarding border demarcation.
Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between the Indian Army and People's Liberation Army was conducted by the People 's Liberation Army on 30 October 2019 on the Chinese side at Bum La. The meeting was organized by People 's Liberation Army (PLA).
It was marked by unfurling of both the National Flags followed by a formal address by the delegation leaders and discussion on various issues to enhance the existing mutual trust and bonhomie between World's two largest armies. The desire to enhance mutual cooperation and cordial relations between the two countries was very evident from the prevailing conducive environment during the proceedings of BPM 2019 . 
In the last 26 years, the BPM mechanism has evolved into a vital platform for resolving local issues and fostering mutual confidence amongst the Border Guarding Troops of both the countries.

ROADTECH : It refers to Sustainable Roads and Highways-Smart Use of Available Resources for Green and Sustainable Roads. The 5th International Conference on ROADTEC was held in New Delhi. Union Minister of State for Road Transport V.K. Singh addressed the meeting. The discussions at the meeting included the growth of the economy by propelling the infrastructure, find the unique way to monetize the road projects in an environment-friendly manner, improve the field of infrastructure in the future than the work done in the last five years and ways to achieve this growth as India needs sustainable and environment-friendly roads and highways and finally the decision to focus on the infrastructure sector to fight the economic slow down.

People In News

Leeladhar Jagoori : He is an Indian teacher, journalist and poet of Hindi literature. He is the author of several poetry anthologies including Natak Jari Hai and Shankha Mukhi Shikharon Par and is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, for his 1997 anthology, Anubhav Ke Aakash Mein Chand. His poems often celebrate love and hope. 
The prestigious 28th Vyas Samman  award for the year 2018 was conferred to him for his poetry collection ‘Jitne Log Utne Prem’, at a function held in New Delhi by renowned author and scholar Govind Mishra.
Vyas Samman Award : It is a literary award in India, first awarded in 1991. It is awarded annually by the K.K. Birla Foundation and it carries a prize money of Rs. 4 lakh along with a citation and plaque. To be eligible for the award, the literary work must be in the Hindi language and have been published in the past 10 years.
The KK Birla Foundation also confers Bihari Puraskar and Saraswati Samman for literature in Indian languages.

Ilham Tohti : He was a Professor of economics at Beijing university. He is from the Uighur minority. He has been a fierce critic of China's treatment of the Uighur people. He was jailed for life in 2014 in China for separatism. He was also a leading Uighur intellectual best known for founding the website Uighur Online.
European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti. recognised for drawing attention to ethnic tensions in Xinjiang. The award was announced by European Parliament head David Sassoli. A ceremony awarding him the Sakharov Prize in his absence will be held in Strasbourg in December. 
He also won another of Europe’s top human rights awards called ‘Vaclav Havel prize’, in September 2019, for “giving the entire Uighur people a voice”. He was also nominated by US lawmakers for ‘Nobel Peace Prize’, amid growing scrutiny of China’s treatment of Uighurs. 
Sakharov Prize :  Officially the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the prestigious human rights award which was founded in 1988 in honor of the Soviet dissident and scientist Andrei Sakharov. It is awarded by the European Parliament, the European Union’s legislative body. It usually goes to political dissidents and intellectuals, with a wide geographic sweep.

Girish Chandra Murmu : He is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Gujarat cadre and was principal secretary to Narendra Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was working for the Union Ministry of Finance as the Expenditure Secretary before taking charge as the Lieutenant Governor. He became Jammu and Kashmir's first lieutenant Governor after the formation of the new Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. He has become the youngest governor the country has ever had. He was administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a function held at Raj Bhawan at the foothills of the Zaberwan range.

RK Mathur:  Radha Krishna Mathur is a retired 1977 batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre. He was the Defence Production Secretary of India, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Secretary of India and the Chief Secretary of Tripura. He will become the first lieutenant governor of Ladakh.He was administered Oath of Office and Secrecy by Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal.

Satya Pal Malik :  He was the last governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He will now move to Goa for the remainder of his tenure as governor. He is scheduled to take the position on 3 November. Mr Malik was first appointed governor of Bihar in September 2017 and moved to Jammu and Kashmir in August last year.

Umang Narula : Centre has also appointed Umang Narula, a 1989-batch IAS officer, as the advisor to newly-appointed Lt Governor of Ladakh.  At present, Umang is posted as principal secretary to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malilk.

SS Khandare : SSKhandare, a 1995-batch IPS officer, has been appointed Head of Police of Union Territory of Ladakh.

The reorganization of erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir into Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh came into existence on the birth anniversary of Iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who is credited with merger of over 560 states into Union of India. This event marked the official reorganisation of the restive state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was split into two union territories after Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution was abrogated by the union government on August 5.

Lieutenant Governors are appointed by President of India for a term of 5years.

Rafael Mariano Grossi : He is a 58 year old nuclear and diplomatic veteran from Buenos Aires in Argentina. He also served as the Argentine Ambassador to Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia and International Organisations based in Vienna. He was formerly the Argentine Ambassador to Belgium.
He is set to take office as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. He is appointed for a term of 4 years and will assume office no later than January 1, 2020. He will be the sixth head of the IAEA since it was founded more than six decades ago and will succeed the late Yukiya Amano as the new chief of IAEA. He will preside over the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the UN headquarter in New York from April to May 2020.

IAEA : It refers to The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It is headquartered in Vienna,Austria. It was formed on the 26th of July 1957.

IFFI : It refers to International Film Festival of India. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first ever IFFI was organized by the Films Division, Government of India, with the patronage of the first Prime Minister of India – Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) aims at providing a common platform to the cinemas across the world to project the excellence of the art of film making. This India’s most prestigious festival is also the first International Film Festival held anywhere in Asia.

Indian film superstar Rajinikanth who has been awarded the Padma Bhushan(2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2016) by the Government of India will be honoured with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee awardat the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It will be held in Goa. 
French acter Isabelle Huppert too will recieve the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.

Greta Thunberg : She is a 16 year old Swedish climate activist. The Scientists at the British Natural History Museum in London, UK have named a tiny beetle of the Coleoptera family Ptiliidae that was discovered more than 50 years ago as ‘Nelloptodes gretae’. She has been honoured for her outstanding contribution’ in raising global awareness of climate change.

P S Sreedharan Pillai : The 65 year old BJP leader P.S. Sreedharan who headed the Kerala unit of BJP has been appointed as the new Governor of Mizoram. The appointment was made by President Ram Nath Kovind. His meeting will take effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
 

Places In News

Syria : Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. Syria's eight-year civil war has claimed more than 370,000 lives and created 5.6 million refugees.
The Syrian government and Opposition delegates met for the first time in the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland to draft a new constitution and to chart a political settlement to end nearly nine years of civil war. A total of 150 delegates representing the government, opposition and civil society  yesterday met at the United Nations office. The drafting of the new Constitution for the war-torn country would be the first step towards the beginning for a political process that will lead to UN-supervised elections under UN resolution 2254. The meeting of the Syria's arch-enemies after nearly 9 years of war is a historic moment. The meeting in Geneva which is being overseen by UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. The meeting was a key proposal by russia. Opposition co-chair Hadi Albahra said Syrians seek a nation that respects all people, without discrimination.However,at present no deadline has been set for the end of talks, but all sides have promised to work with speed and efficiency.  

Nagaland : Nagaland Minister for Higher and Technical Education and Tribal affairs Temjen Inma Along launched Nagaland Ex-gratia Scheme for Students Studying outside Nagaland (NGESSO), an initiative of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. It was launched at the directorate of Higher Education in Kohima. The scheme is targeted for students who die outside the state while pursuing secular, technical, professional, diploma and theology courses. The scheme would also benefit the students of Nagaland belonging to any recognized scheduled tribes and indigenous inhabitants of the state. The nominee can claim ex-gratia amount within a period of 2 (two) months after the death of the students by furnishing the required documents. The payment would be made through Direct Benefit Transfer by the finance department to the bank account of the nominee within a period of one month.

Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh Government launched a scheme to promote natural farming and to increase the income of the farmers. A total of 2,209 panchayats out of the total 3,226 panchayats were brought under natural farming in the State. It is promoting Organic and Zero Budget Natural Farming under Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kissan Yojana. A target of training 50,000 farmers under the scheme has been fixed for this 2019-2020. As many as 20,579 farmers were trained out of which 15,391 have started practicing natural farming in their fields. As per the plans of the State Government minimum of 5 training sessions per month till March 2020 are to be held.
Block technology manager and Assistance Technology manger have been recruited under Agricultural Technology management Agency to fulfill the needs of the training. The scheme aims to reduce costs required for farmers, increase farmers income and reduce use of chemicals and fertilizers in the farm.
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Odisha : Odisha has inked a Letter of Understanding (LoU) on “drink from tap mission” with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The main objective of the mission is to provide piped quality drinking water supply to every urban household in the state on a 24-hour basis. Technical cooperation will be provided by NNICEF to the Government of Odisha. The community-based water management system will be adopted at ward-level and in the first phase. The availability of safe water in every urban area will involve Women Self help Groups that will ensure the household connection for every household, collection of water tariff, meter reading, billing, complaint management, filed quality testing by using standard tools etc,.
Investment in water in Odisha is very important as, around 10 lakh people in Odisha are facing water contamination related problems. Similarly, 68 lakh people are not getting minimum 40 litres of water for their daily needs. Out of those highest 11 lakh are in Ganjam district alone.
 

Lebanon :  Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri resigned from the post of Prime Minister amid a wave of protests against his government in nearly two weeks. Lebanon has been facing a deep-running fiscal crisis as it staggers under one of the highest debt ratios in the world $86 billion, or more than 150% of the country’s gross domestic product. The country has been paralized due to the unrest caused by the anti-government protesters.
 

Science and Technology

Self-assembling Robots: Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers have developed M-blocks, a set of robotic cubes that can roll, jump, spin, and self-assemble into different shapes. the robots, called M-blocks 2.0, have a barcode-like system on each face that helps them recognize and communicate with other blocks. The cube robots were developed by MIT’s computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory (CSAIL). They are the second iteration of an original design that MIT showed off back in 2013. the latest version features algorithms designed to help the robots work together more effectively.
The origami robots are made from composite sheets of paper and polystyrene (Shrinky Dinks). The engineers print some conductive channels onto these sheets, and then use a laser machining system to create the necessary origami fold pattern. Each hinge contains an embedded circuit that, when instructed by a microcontroller, produces heat, which causes the hinge to fold. Then, by adding a couple of motors, and a microcontroller that knows the necessary fold pattern, the robot comes to life — first by folding into its predestined shape, and then by walking away.

MIT : It refers to Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT in the US have developed a new technology to capture carbon dioxide from a stream of air, virtually at any concentration level, an advance that may pave the way for new strategies to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas levels.
Earlier, most methods of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of gas required higher concentrations such as those found in the flue emissions from fossil fuel-based power plants but now the new method could take out the gas even when it was present in very low concentrations.

Indian Brain Atlas : Researchers at International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) have created an Indian Brain Atlas. The India-specific brain atlas is known as IBA 100. According to the new findings the average size of an Indian brain is smaller in height width and volume than Western and Eastern population.
First-ever digital human brain atlas was created by The MNI and International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM) in 1993.
Until now, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)'s Caucasian brains were used as standard to study brain as the MNI was not ideal for Indian population due to difference in ethnicity. MNI template ran the risk of misdiagnosis due to the difference in size of the brains. 
Jayanti Sivaswamy, who works at Centre for Visual Information Technology saod that the creation of IBA 100 would help in better diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other brain ailments. Her research students are now collecting MRI scans to create brain atlases for different age groups, like 20-30, 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 and to track the brain and see how it ages. 
Korea and China have also constructed their own brain templates. Overall, IBA 100 is more similar to Chinese and Korean atlases than the distant Caucasian one.

Sports

Hockey :  Eight-time winners India qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after thrashing Russia 7-1 (11-3 on aggregate) in the second game of the two-legged FIH Qualifiers for men, in Bhubaneswar. The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
Indian women's hockey team too has qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Skipper Rani Rampal's 48th minute strike sealed Tokyo Olympics berth for the Indian women's hockey team as they pipped USA 6-5 on aggregate despite losing 1-4 in the second leg of the FIH Qualifier, in Bhubaneswar. Indian women have now qualified for back-to-back Olympics having sealed it in Rio de Janeiro after a gap of 36 years. The women's team first participated in the Quadrennial extravaganza in 1980 where the men's team last won their gold medal.

Boxing :  India pugilists Shiva Thapa (63kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) bagged gold at the Olympic Test Event for Boxing while Ashish (69kg) settled for silver as India ended with a decent haul of seven medals at the Olympic Test Event for Boxing. Thapa is also the reigning national champion and a bronze-medallist from the 2015 world championships.

Ironman World Championships : The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification races held throughout the world.
Lieutenant Colonel Swaroop Singh Kuntal of the Indian Army and posted in Jhansi, has made the name of the country proud by making a new record in Malaysia. He became the fastest Indian to complete Ironman Malaysia triathlon in a record time of 12 hours and 14 minutes. The triathlon consists of 3.8 km sea swimming, followed by 180 km cycling and finally 42.2 km of running. 

Football League Cup :In association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946–47 and was entitled the Scottish League Cup.
Liverpool reached the League Cup quarter-finals in thrilling style as their incredible 5-5 draw against Arsenal was followed by a 5-4 penalty shoot-out triumph, while Manchester United won 2-1 at Chelsea.

Arts

Eid-Al Adha: Eid Al-Adha is the last of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and considered the holier of the two. The day falls on the tenth day in the final (twelfth) month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar; Dhu-al-Hijjah. The day that celebrations fall on depends on a legitimate sighting of the moon, following the completion of the annual Holy Pilgrimage of Hajj -  which is an obligation for all Muslim’s who fit specific criteria, one of the important Five Pillars of Islam.

It is celebrated to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son in obedience of God's command. It is observed by the sacrifice of a sheep, cow, goat, buffalo or camel. This is also known as Udhiya. The days of animal sacrifice total three days, from the 10th to the 12th of Dhu-al-Hijjah.  It is also called the Festival of Sacrifice, Sacrifice Feast, Festival of Sacrifice; Sacrifice Feast; Greater Eid or Bakraeed.

At Eid al-Adha, many Muslims make a special effort to pray and listen to a sermon at a mosque. They also wear new clothes, visit family members and friends and may symbolically sacrifice an animal in an act known as qurbani. This represents the animal that Ibrahim sacrificed in the place of his son.

Recently, Eid-Al Adha was celebrated worldwide by the muslims amid the Pandemic crisis. In India, Eid-ul-Azha or Baqraeed is being celebrated with religious fervour and due reverence across the country today. Most of the worshippers offered Eid Namaz or prayers in local mosques adhering to physical distance while in some states, where lockdown is imposed, people offered prayers in their homes.

Shravan: As per Hindu Vedas and Puranas the holy month of Sawan or Shravan is dedicated to worshipping Lord Shiva to gain success, a good marriage and prosperity. It falls on the fifth month of the Hindu calendar and July or September month of the Gregorian calendar. This year the month starts from July 6, 2020 and goes on till August 3, 2020 which is when it comes to an end on the day of Raksha Bandhan.

Shravana is considered to be a holy month in the Hindu calendar due to the numerous festivals that are celebrated during this time. Also special worship of Lord Shiva and fasting is observed on Mondays. The month of Shravana is very important for the entire sub-continent of India as it is connected to the arrival of the South-West monsoons.

The holy month is marked by complete devotion to Lord Shiva. One of the reasons the month is related to Lord Shiva is that the cosmos is filled with Shiva Tattva, thus worshipping Lord Shiva during this month is believed to easily appease Him and attract His divine grace. Another reason, as per the Hindu Vedas and Puranas, the Gods and Demons decided to Samudra Mantha or churn the ocean to decide who among them was the strongest to get Amrit from it. However, the 'halahala' or poison also came out along with it which had the potential to destroy the world. Lord Shiva then drank that poison and saved the world. Therefore, Lord Shiva is worshipped as a gesture of gratitude in the whole month of Shravan.

Shiva: Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma is the creator of the universe while Vishnu is the preserver of it.

During this month there are many other Hindu festivals such as:

Krishna Janmashtami: Krishna Janmashtami marks the birth of Lord Sri Krishna comes on the eight day after the full moon and is celebrated with great pomp across the world, especially in the Vaishnava traditions.

Raksha Bandhan: Raksha Bandhan also called Rakhi Purnima or simply Rakhi in many parts of India and Nepal, is a Hindu religious festival which signifies and celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on Shraavana Poornima (Full Moon). In simple words, Raksha bandhan means "Bond of Protection"

Naryal Poornima: Shraavana Poornima (full moon) day is celebrated as Narali Purnima in western India and parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa,. On this day, an offering of a coconut is made to the sea, as a mark of respect to Lord Varuna, the God of the Sea. In the coastal regions of Maharashtra i.e. Konkan, a coconut is offered to the sea for calming it down after the monsoon season. Narali Purnima is the beginning of the fishing season and the fishermen, who depend on the sea for a living, make an offering to Lord Varuna so that they can reap bountiful fish from the sea. Fishermen start fishing in the sea after this ceremony.

Nag Panchami: Nag Panchami is also celebrated in many parts of India on the fifth day after Amavasya of Shraavana month. The snake god Nāga is worshiped. The last day of the Shraavana is celebrated as Pola, where the bull is worshiped by farmers from Maharashtra.

Avani Avittam: In southern and central parts of India including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha, Shraavana Poornima day is when the Brahmin community performs the rituals of Avani Avittam or Upakarma.

Basava Panchami: In Karnataka Basava Panchami  is celebrated on 5th day after amavasya. In 1196 AD this day Lingayat dharma guru Basava merged with god.

Shri Baladeva Janamotsuv: Shraavana Poornima day is also celebrated as Shri Baladeva birth Ceremony. Lord Krishna's elder Brother Prabhu Balarama was born on this Poornima.

Gamha Purnima: Gamha Purnima is celebrated in Odisha. On this date, all the domesticated Cows and Bullocks are decorated and worshipped. Various kinds of country-made cakes called Pitha and sweets mitha are made and distributed within families, relatives and friends. In Oriya Jagannath culture, the lord Krishna & Radha enjoy the rainy season of Shravana starting from Shukla Pakhya Ekadashi (usually 4 days before Purnima) and ending on Rakhi Purnima with a festival called "Jhulan Yatra". Idols of Radha-Krishna are beautifully decorated on a swing called Jhulan, hence the name "Jhulan Yatra".

Kajari Purnima: In central parts of India such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand Shraavana Poornima day is celebrated as Kajari Purnima. It is an important day for the farmers and women blessed with a son. On the ninth day after Shravana Amavasya, the preparations of the Kajari festival start. This ninth day is called Kajari Navami and varied rituals are performed by women who have sons until Kajri Purnima or the full moon day.

Pavitropana: In parts of Gujarat, Shraavana Poornima day is celebrated as Pavitropana. On this holiday, people perform the grand pooja or the worship of Lord Shiva. It is the culmination of the prayers done throughout the year.

Jandhyam Poornima: Jandhyam is Sanskrit for sacred thread, and Poornima denotes the full moon in Sanskrit. Jandhyala Purnima is observed on the full moon day (Poornima) in the month of Shraavan in Andhra Pradesh. Brahmins perform the sacred thread changing ceremony on this day and it is also known as Yajurveda Nutanasahitha Upakarma.

Pavitra Ekadashi: On Ekadashi Day [11th day], Vaishnavas in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan celebrate it as the birth of Pushtimarga, the path of grace. On this day, Lord Krishna appeared in front of Shri Vallabhacharya. Shri Vallabhacharya offered him a thread (soothan), which was pious (pavitra). Since that day every year, Pavitra Ekadashi is celebrated. Such threads are offered from Ekadashi till Raksha Bandhan.

Salono: In Haryana and Punjab, in addition to celebrating Raksha Bandhan, people observe the festival of Salono. Salono is celebrated by priests solemnly tying amulets on people's wrists for protection against evil. The day is dedicated to local saints involving devotees receiving such amulets. In Haryana, the festival of Salono also involves sisters tying threads on brothers to ward off evil. Despite the two festivals being similar in its practices, Salono and Raksha Bandhan are distinct observances with the threads tied for Salono being called ponchis.

Shravani Mela: Shravani Mela is a major festival time at Deoghar in Jharkhand with thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water around 100 km on foot from the Ganges at Sultanganj, Bihar. Shravan is also the time of the annual Kanwar Yatra, the annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva, known as Kanwaria make to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch holy waters of Ganges River.

Pola: Pola is a festival respecting bulls and oxen which is celebrated by farmers in Maharashtra. Pola is a thanksgiving festival of farmers and their families for their bulls. It is celebrated in Maharashtra to acknowledge the importance of bulls and oxen, who are a crucial part of agriculture and farming activities. It falls on the last day or the new moon day of Shraavana.

Hindu saint Sri Guru Raghavendra Swami, who advocated Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy, achieved Videha Mukti on Sraavana Bahula Dwitiya in 1671 AD.

Economics

Apple Inc.: It is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. It is considered one of the Big Tech technology companies, alongside Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. It was founded on 1 April 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States.

Recently, Apple has become the world’s most valuable company. This technology giant  dethroned oil giant Saudi Aramco to become the most valuable publicly listed company in the world after it reported a gain of 10 per cent in its shares.

Flipkart: Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It was founded on October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. The company initially focused on book sales, before expanding into other product categories such as consumer electronics, fashion, home essentials & groceries, and lifestyle products. Flipkart also owns PhonePe, a mobile payments service based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In August 2018, U.S.-based retail chain Walmart acquired a 81% controlling stake in Flipkart for US$16 billion, valuing it at $20 billion.

Recently, Walmart-owned Flipkart announced that 6 lakh artisans across the country will be added this year to their Samarth programme.

Samarth Programme is an initiative started by Flipkart in 2019. The e-commerce company had collaborated with 5 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help local artisans use the online e-commerce platform to sell their products. The Programme supports 6 Lakh artisans (weavers, craftsmen etc.) across India earn their bread and butter by selling their handmade art & craftwork  to sell their products online to a customer base of nearly 200 million.

At present, with the help of government partnerships, this initiative has been able to bring artisans online from the remotest parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha,   Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab and Karnataka.

Other Initiatives: Over the course of the year, Flipkart has partnered with several government entities including UP Khadi and Village Industries Board, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), and Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation.

It also supports MSMEs through a special initiative called Walmart Vriddhi. It is a make in India Initiative which empowers nearly 50,000 MSMEs to manufacture ‘Make in India’ product for local and global markets. The company also provides necessary training and support along with access to a huge e-commerce ecosystem of its peers and mentors group.

Co-branded Contactless Credit Card: It is a new RuPay credit card. It is empowered with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which will enable users to expedite their transactions at the POS machines by just tapping the card on the machines instead of swiping. The card will reward frequent railway travelers by offering them maximum savings proposition on their travel together with exclusive benefits.

Recently, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and SBI Card launched a new Co-branded Contactless Credit Card on RuPay Platform. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal dedicated this new card to the Nation. Launch of this card is one of the many “Make In India” activities undertaken by the Railways.

The newly launched card aims to ensure a safe, convenient and improved travel experience for the rail passengers.

Defence

Kargil Vijay Diwas: The Day is named after the successful 'Operation Vijay'. Kargil Vijay Diwas is a day when the country pays homage to the Kargil War heroes and celebrates victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War. On July 26, 1999, India successfully regained command over all the high outposts. The Kargil War was fought for more than 60 days. India defeated Pakistan successfully completed ‘Operation Vijay’, ending the three-month war in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LOC).

Recently, the 21st Anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated across the country. However, celebrations were muted this year in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The India Army paid tributes to the martyrs and the soldiers who lost their lives at the heights of Kargil.

Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi: He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasala, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the erstwhile College of Naval warfare, Karanja and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi.

Recently, Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi, AVSM, NM has assumed charge as the Commandant, Indian Naval Academy (INA). He has replaced the Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM who served as the Commandant, Indian Naval Academy (INA) from 12 June 2019 to 27 July 2020.

IAF: It is an acronym for the Indian Air Force of India. IAF is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed. The present Commander-in-Chief of IAF is Ram Nath Kovind. The Chief of Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command of the Air Force. The present Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC and the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) is Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora, AVSM, ADC.

Recently, a fleet of 5 French-manufactured Rafale multi-role combat jets arrived in India. Giving the country's air power a strategic edge over its adversaries in the neighbourhood, the Jets landed at the Ambala Air Force base covering a distance of 7,000 km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux. The Rafales were escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space.

The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater aircraft, are being inducted into the IAF as part of its Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, also known as the 'Golden Arrows'.

The Rafale jets, known for air-superiority and precision strikes, are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia. The aircraft is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

Environment

MoEFCC: It refers to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. MoEFCC an Indian government ministry was formed in 1985. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The ministry is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, conservation and survey of forest, flora and fauna of India, prevention and control of pollution, afforestation, land degradation mitigation and overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes in the country. The current Minister of MoEFCC is Prakash Javedkar.

Recently, the Union Environment Ministry launched the National Transit Pass System (NTPS), an online system for issuing transit permits for timber, bamboo and other forest produce. As of now, the pilot project will be functional in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh only. The system will be will be operational in all states by Diwali.

This online system will enhance seamless movement of forest produce. It will bring ease of business and expedite issuance of transit permits for timber, bamboo and other minor forest produce without physically going to forest offices. Through mobile application e-pass will be issued for transit of forest produce.

NTPS will enhance seamless movement of forest produce. Transit of timber, bamboo and other forest produce is governed by various state specific acts and rules.

Nag River: The Nag River is a river flowing through the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra. Nagpur city derives its name from the Nag river. It forms a part of the Kanhan-Pench river system. This  River originates in Lava hills near wadi.

Recently, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court observed that Industrialisation and urbanisation has reduced Nag River to a cursed lady by heavily polluting it.

The river serves as drainage for Nagpur and as a result its ecosystem is heavily polluted by urban waste from the city. The Nag River Rejuvenation was cleared by National River Conservation Directorate in November 2019.

International Tigers day: Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on 29 July.

International Tiger Day was established in 2010 at Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia to raise awareness about the decline of wild tiger numbers, leaving them in the brink of extinction and to encourage the work of Tiger conservation. In the Summit, a declaration was made that the Heads of the Governments of Tiger Range countries had resolved to double tiger numbers across their global range by 2022 by signing the Petersburg declaration on tiger conservation.

 

Several events every year are organized by animal organizations like IFAW, WWF, and the Smithsonian Institute.

Recently, International Tigers day was observed on July 29, 2020. The Global Tiger Day 2020 slogan is ‘Their Survival is in Our Hands’.

There are currently 13 tiger range countries -- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

On the occasion of International Tigers day, the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Minister of State Babul Supriyo released the All India Tiger Estimation-2018. The All India Tiger Estimation is undertaken every four years, the latest in 2018.

The report states that India has 70% of the total tiger population in the world.

Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to releases the Tiger Census report as well to commemorate Global Tiger Day 2020.

 

Indian Policy

Digital Education June 2020: Union Minister for HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ recently launched “India Report on Digital Education, 2020”. The minister, during the virtual launch, stated that report highlights the innovative methods adopted by Ministry of HRD, Education Departments of States and Union Territories to ensure accessible as well as inclusive education to children at home and reducing learning gaps.

India Report on Digital Education, 2020 comprises of various initiatives taken to provide remote learning and education for all by taking schools to the students. Some of the initiatives are as follows:  Swayam Prabha TV Channel, DIKSHA platform, Online MOOC courses, On Air – Shiksha Vani, DAISY by NIOS for differently-abled, e-PathShala, etc.

FDI: It refers to the Foreign Direct Investment. FDI is an investment from a party in one country into a business or corporation in another country with the intention of establishing a lasting interest. Lasting interest differentiates FDI from foreign portfolio investments, where investors passively hold securities from a foreign country. Foreign direct investment can be made by expanding one’s business into a foreign country or by becoming the owner of a company in another country. It is an important non-debt monetary source for India’s economic development. Economic liberalization started in India in the wake of the 1991 crisis and since then, FDI has steadily increased in the country. There are 2 types of FDI route. the first one is the Automatic route, under which The non-resident or Indian company does not require the prior nod of the RBI or government of India for FDI and the Government Route, under which the government’s approval is mandatory.

Recently, the Government of India (GoI) notified changes in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms on civil aviation, which is also called as the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2020. The main aim of the government is to augment the Make in India initiative which is turn will attract global companies in India looking to establish alternative manufacturing hubs

As per the amendments:

It will permit non-resident Indian nationals to own 100 % stake of Air India.

The exceptions which permitted Overseas Citizens of India 100% FDI in air transport, but not Air India is removed.

This category of citizens has been replaced with NRIs, now allowed to commit 100% FDI in air transport, including Air India, through automatic route.

Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India Limited shall continue o be vested in Indian National as stipulated in Aircraft Rules.

Last month, the government for the third time extended the deadline to bid for Air India. The deadline was extended by two months till August 31st. The divestment process for the national carrier was initiated on January 27th.

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers: The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments. The three departments are Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Department of Fertilizers and Department of Pharmaceuticals. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals was under the Ministry of Industry until December 1989, when it was brought under the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals. On June 5, 1991, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals was transferred to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The current Union Minister and Minister of State of Chemicals and fertilizers are D. V. Sadananda Gowda and Mansukh Mandaviya respectively.

Recently, the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri DV Sadananda Gowda launched 4 schemes for the promotion of domestic manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices parks in the country. Four schemes were formulated by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, two each for Bulk Drugs and Medical Devices parks. These schemes will work towards the development of Indian pharmaceutical capacities and reduce India’s dependence on imports, making it self reliant.

As per these 4 schemes, the scheme will remain open for applications for a period of 120 days from the date of issuance of guidelines and the approval will be received by the applicants within 90 days from the closure of application window. The applications will be received only through an online portal and the total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs 6,940 crore. The main aim of the Scheme for promotion of Bulk Drug Parks is to establish three bulk drug parks in the country. Maximum grant-in-aid for one bulk drug park is limited to Rs.1000 crore.

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of Medical Devices aims to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices in four target segments. This will be achieved by offering financial incentives on sales to a maximum number of 28 selected applicants for a period of 5 years.

PLI schemes aims to boost domestic manufacturing of 53 bulk drugs, on which India is critically dependent on imports.

Indian polity

Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review. It consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of 34 judges, it has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. It is regarded as the most powerful public institution in India. It was established on 26 January 1950. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The current CJI of the Supreme Court is Sharad Arvind Bobde.

Recently, a Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court has held that a Governor is bound to convene a meeting of the Assembly for a floor test on the recommendation of the Cabinet. He can't say no and he has to call the house whenever the Chief Minister asks him to do so.

The judgement was taken as there has been a deadlock between the Rajasthan's Governor Kalraj Mishra and the Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over summoning of an Assembly session for a floor test.

The Apex court reffered to the five-judge Constitution Bench judgement in Nabam Rebia (Arunachal Pradesh) case.

NABAM REBIA JUDGMENT: The Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in Nabam Rebia versus Deputy Speaker on July 13, 2016, held that a Governor is bound to convene a meeting of the Assembly for a floor test on the recommendation of the Cabinet.

The Apex Court in its judgement said that a Governor cannot employ his “discretion”, and should strictly abide by the “aid and advice” of the Cabinet to summon the Assembly for a floor test.

The Governor can summon, prorogue and dissolve the House only on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as the head. 

Article 163 of the Constitution does not give the Governor a “general discretionary power to act against or without the advice of his Council of Ministers”.

Article 163(1) of the Constitution said that the Governor was bound by the advice of his Council of Ministers and he has to convene the Assembly.

Even the Constituent Assembly was wary of extending the Governor’s discretion. Though the draft Constitution had vested the Governor with the discretion to summon and dissolve, it was later omitted by the framers of the Constitution.

Governor’s discretionary powers are limited to specified areas like giving assent or withholding or referring a Bill to the President or appointment of a Chief Minister or dismissal of a government which has lost of confidence but refuses to quit, etc.

MHRD: It refers to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was formerly known as the Ministry of Education. It was founded on 26 September 1985. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.It is responsible for the development of human resources in India. The current Minister of MHRD is Ramesh Pokhriyal.

Recently the MHRD has been renamed as Ministry of Education. The changing of the name was approved by the Union Cabinet.  The HRD Ministry is currently headed by Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

The name was changed as it was a key recommendation of the draft New Education Policy. The HRD ministry name was adopted in 1985, during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, as it was changed from the Ministry of Education. The changes in the name has been proposed in order to focus on education and learning.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which has been approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will replace the existing National Policy on Education which was first formulated in 1986 and last modified in 1992.

Anandiben Patel: She has served as the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, she was the first female chief minister of the state. Earlier on June 28, Patel was given the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh during the absence on leave of Governor Lalji Tandon.

Recently, she is appointed as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh by President of India Ram Nath Kovind to discharge the functions of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. This development comes after the Governor of MP Lalji Tandon passed away. The power conferred by Articles 155 and 160 of the Constitution was exercised by the President.

International

India-Russia: Recently, a Joint Technology Assessment & Accelerated Commercialization Programme was launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This programme was launched by both the entities in collaboration with the Foundation of Assistance to Small Innovation Enterprises (FASIE) of the Russian Federation.

The programme aims to develop and connect Indian and Russian Science and Technology in order to uplift the SMEs and start-ups. Both the countries will jointly work in the field of R&D for technology upliftment and to enhance the bilateral scientific cooperation between them.

They seek to focus on the areas like AI, Pharma, renewable energy, environment, and robotics drones etc. The programme will be conducted in two annual cycles with 5 projects to fund during each cycle.

FICCI: It refers to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. FCCI is an association of business organisations in India. It was established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by GD Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas. It is the largest, oldest and the apex business organization in India. It provides a platform for networking and consensus building within and across sectors and is the first port of call for Indian industry, policy makers and the international business community. It is Headquartered in New Delhi. The current President of FCCI is Sangita Reddy.

DST: It refers to the Department of Science & Technology. DST is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India. It was founded on 3 May 1971. It's responsibility is to promote new areas of science and technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting Scientific and Technological activities in the country. It gives funds to various approved scientific projects in India. It also supports various researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works. Minister of State Dr. Harsh Vardhan is the current head of the department, while Ashutosh Sharma is its present secretary.

Maldives: The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a small island nation in South Asia. It is situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India.The Capital of Maldives is Male. The Currency of the Maldives is Maldivian Rufiyaa. The current President of the Maldives is Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Recently, Maldives celebrated its 55th Independence Day. President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended their greetings to the neighboring country on the occasion.

From the mid-16th-century the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers, with the Maldives becoming a British protectorate in 1887. Independence from the United Kingdom came in 1965, and a presidential republic was established in 1968 with an elected People's Majlis. Finally, on 26 July 1965, the Maldives gained total independence from the British (despite the fact that the British still maintained an air base on Gan island until 1976). The freedom to govern themselves came with a number of challenges, such as how to address the need for modernisation and economic development. Despite a brief period in the 50s where the Maldives was a republic, once the Maldives separated from the British, a sultanate still existed.

Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa. The political capital of Ivory Coast is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south. The currency used here is West African CFA franc. The current President of Ivory Coast is Alassane Ouattara.

Recently, the Defence Minister of Ivory Coast Hamed Bakayoko has been named as the Prime Minister of the country. He was presently serving as the as interim PM of the country since the sudden death of former Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

Hamed Bakayoko: He was a founding member of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) party. He was also in charge of the party’s daily newspaper, Le Patriote. He not only served as the minister of new information and communication technology from 2003 to 2011 in the national unity government but he has also been a mayor of Abobo, one of most populous districts of the country, since 2018.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. The capitals of Srilanka are Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Colombo is the judicial capital of Sri Lanka while Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, a Colombo suburb, is the legislative capital.   The currency used here is Sri Lankan rupee. The current President and Prime Minister of Srilanka are Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa respectively.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed an agreement for extending a $400-million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka. It was signed to boost the foreign reserves and ensure financial stability of the country, which is badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement between Sri Lanka and RBI has been signed under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework. The currency swap arrangement will remain available till November 2022.

RBI also offers similar swap lines to central banks in the SAARC region within a total corpus of $2 billion. This facility originally came into operation in 2012. India already has a $75 billion bilateral currency swap line with Japan, which has the second highest dollar reserves after China.

Currency Swap: It means that in a swap arrangement, a country provides dollars to a foreign central bank, which, at the same time, provides the equivalent funds in its currency to the former, based on the market exchange rate at the time of the transaction. The parties agree to swap back these quantities of their two currencies at a specified date in the future, which could be the next day or even two years later, using the same exchange rate as in the first transaction. In Sri Lanka’s case, it’s more than two years.

Currency Swap is beneficial as these swap operations carry no exchange rate or other market risks, as transaction terms are set in advance. The absence of an exchange rate risk is the major benefit of such a facility. This facility provides the country, which is getting the dollars, with the flexibility to use these reserves at any time in order to maintain an appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity.

Tunisia: Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa.  Tunisia is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia's name is derived from its capital city, Tunis (Berber native name: Tunest), which is located on its northeast coast. The capital of Tunisia is Tunis. The currency used here is Tunisian dinar. The current President of Tunisia is Kais Saied.

Recently, Hichem Mechichi the Interior Minister of Tunisia, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of the country. He succeeded Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned over allegations of a conflict of interest. He has a month to form a government. As well as being the interior minister in the outgoing government, Mechichi has been a counselor to President Saied, handling legal matters. He has previously been chief of staff at the Ministry of Transport. He also served in the Ministry of Social Affairs.

National

Tripartite MoU: A tripartite MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was recently signed by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (UBA-IITD), and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) in New Delhi. 

The MoU was signed to offer access to CSIR rural technologies for UBA. It will not only lay the foundation for cooperation as well as joint action in the area of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) for rural development of India but will also enable access to the structural networks to achieve the collaboration of district administration, local Panchayat Raj Institutes (PRIs), voluntary organizations and the institutions that participate with UBA.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) is the flagship national program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). It aims to bring the transformational change in rural development processes by enabling knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an inclusive India.

The MoU will pave the way for effective coordination between CSIR, IIT Delhi, and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) towards meeting the objectives of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.

NEP 2020: It refers to the National Education Policy 2020. The new NEP 2020 has recently been approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the 21st century. It will be replacing the 34 year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986. The  National Education Policy (NEP) draft has been developed by a committee chaired by K. Kasturirangan.

It is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is based on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability.

It has a target of 50% Gross Enrollment Ratio by 2035 and provision for multiple entry and exits. It aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more holistic, flexible & multidisciplinary, as per the requirements of 21st century.

The new National Education Policy 2020 emphasizes on mother-tongue and multi-lingualism.

MoTA: It refers to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. MoTA is a branch of Government of India (GoI). It was set up on October 1999 after the bifurcation of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (India) to have a more focused approach on the integrated socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs), the most underprivileged of the Indian Society.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for overall policy planning and coordination of programmes for development of STs. To this end, the Ministry has undertaken activities that follow under the subjects allocated in the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 and amendment(s) thereafter. Before the formation of the ministry the tribal Affairs was being handled by different ministries which were:

1. As a Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs known as Tribal Division since after independence up to September 1985.

2. Ministry of Welfare: From September 1985 to May 1998.

3. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment from May 1998 to September 1999.

The current Union Minister of MoTA is Arjun Munda and Minister of State of MoTA is Renuka Singh Saruta.

Recently, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) ws awarded the SKOCH Gold Award for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” project. This project was launched to show GoI's commitment to realize the dreams of Digital India and bringing transparency as well as ease in the delivery of services. MoTA integrated the 5 Scholarship Schemes with DBT Portal under the guidance of DBT Mission in order to align with the larger vision of ‘Digital India’.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) participated in the DIGITAL INDIA & E-GOVERNANCE-2020 Competition. The 66th SKOCH 2020 Competition was held with name “INDIA RESPONDS TO COVID THROUGH DIGITAL GOVERNANCE”.

People In News

Sunil ydv SS: He is the founder SS Motivation. He has been recently honoured with “Karamveer Chakra Award” by Global Fellowship Award instituted by United Nations and International Confederation of NGO (iCONGO) at the ReX ConcLIVE hosted in IIT Delhi.

He received the award for his relentless contribution to society through his Telegram channel “SS Motivation.” He addresses social issues and motivates people every day through his channel. He has been honoured with awards like Rastra Prerna, Iconic Personality of India, Incredible Indian Icon and Humanitarian Excellence.

Karamveer Chakra: The Karamveer Chakra is a global award given annually to people who contribute to society by showing courage, initiating change, and walking through the less-travelled life paths. The award is tribute to its ambassador Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India.

Verghese Kurien known as father of the white revolution of India, is the first recipient of Karmaveer lifetime achievement award. Some of the recipients are Joyanto Mukherjee, Jason Fernandes, Hariharan Iyer, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, Devika Vaid, Harish Iyer, Dr. Shruti Kapoor, Manju Latha Kalanidhi, Anurag Chauhan,  Jyoti Dhawale, Kajol, Geeta Sankar, Sudha Menon, Dr. Renu Agrawal and Binayak Dewan.

Hardik Satishchandra Shah: He is a 2010-batch IAS officer. He has recently been appointed as the Private Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on co-terminus basis. He is is currently serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Before moving to the PMO last year, he worked as the PS to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Kala Narayanasamy: She is an Indian-origin nurse, who is the Deputy Director of Nursing at Woodlands Health Campus.

She was recently conferred with the President’s Award for Nurses in singapore. She was awarded this prestigious award for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. She utilized the infection control practices that she had learned during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, in the current pandemic. The other awardees were Tay Yee Kian, Patricia Yong Yueh Li, Alice Chua Foong Sin and Chin Soh Mun.

President’s Award for Nurses: The President’s Award for Nurses is the highest accolade in the nursing profession. The President’s Award for Nurses in Singapore recognizes the efforts of nurses who have shown sustained outstanding performance and contributions to patient care delivery, education, research and administration. Seventy-seven nurses have received the award since its inception in 2000.

Places In News

Kashmir: Indian-administered Kashmir is known for its high-quality saffron, a spice derived from the crocus flower. The Kashmir variety of saffron is considered the best in the world and it is the most expensive. It is largely grown in the small town of Pampore, where thousands of hectares of land is used for saffron cultivation. It is just about half an hour's drive from Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar. Pampore is often called Kashmir's saffron town. The current Lieutenant Governor of J&K is GC Murmu.

Recently, the Union Government has issued a certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Saffron grown in the Kashmir Valley.

Kashmir Saffron, with the GI tag, seeks to acquire more prominence in the export market and would help the farmers get a better remunerative price. It would also stop the prevalent adulteration of Kashmir Saffron which will help the authenticated Saffronfetch much better prices.

GI Tag: It refers to a geographical indication tag. GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin and in order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. The Gi certification enables those who have the right to use sign in order to prevent third parties using the sign.

Kerala: It is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganization Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile states of Travancore-Cochin and Madras. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. Its capital is Thiruvananthapuram. The current Governor and Chief Minister of Kerala are Arif Mohammad Khan and Pinarayi Vijayan respectively.

Recently, the Aditya ferry, built by Navalt Solar and Electric Boats, which belongs to the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) has won the prestigious Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating. The low cost passenger ferry operating in Vemabanad backwaters won the award after competing against five other finalists from Europe in the public transport category.

Aditya: It is India’s first solar-powered ferry. It was launched in November 2016 and started its services in 2017. It is a sun-powered commuter ferry that is one of the great stories of the future of electric marine propulsion. It is operated by the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) and built by Navalt Solar and Electric Boats, Kochi. It has been designed by Designed by the Department of Ship Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology. It has been plying on the Vaikkom-Thavanakkadavu route in Alappuzha district since January 2017. It has an eco-sounder, GPS, hydraulic steering, and an automatic pump to remove water from the haul.

Gustave Trouve Award: Gustave Trouvé Award is the world’s only international awards exclusively for electric boats. It was instituted by Plugboats this year in honour of Frenchman Gustave Trouve who created the world’s first outboard motor, connecting an electric motor to a rechargeable battery on a boat and sailed in down the Seine river in 1881. He invented the world’s first outboard motor, connecting it to a rechargeable battery to sail a boat down the Seine River in silence.

This award recognizes and honours the innovations and achievements of individuals and organizations that design and develop electric boats, motors and related systems.

The plugboats announced the inaugural Gustave Trouvé International Awards on 26th May 2020 marking the 139th anniversary of the invention of the electric board. The awards, handed out for the first time.

Guwahati: Guwahati is the largest city in the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India.  It lies along the Brahmaputra River in the northeast Indian state of Assam. It is called the 'Gateway to North East India'. The current Governor and the Chief Minister of Assam are Professor Jagdish Mukhi and Sarbananda Sonowal respectively.

Recently, Minister of Guwahati Development Department Siddhartha Bhattacharya inaugurated Guwahati’s first manhole cleaning robot named “BANDICOOT”. It is an automatic sewer cleaning device. Guwahati has become the first city in the Northeast region to get a manhole cleaning robot and the third city in the entire country to procure this innovative technology to clean manholes after Gurugram and Coimbatore.

BANDICOOT: BANDICOOT has been developed by Genrobotics, an Indian startup company under the Make in India initiative. The funding for this robot development was provided by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The robot supports easy removal of sludge from the underground drain which in turn will help the elimination of manual scavenging.

Science and Technology

Ford: Ford Motor Company, commonly known as Ford, is an American multinational automaker that has its main headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The Company's business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing, and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles.

Recently, two Boston Dynamics robot dogs named Fluffy and Spot is being used by Ford plant in Michigan to help scan the Blue Oval's Van Dyke transmission plant as it gears up for a retooling. The robodogs will roam the Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Dearborn, MI on four legs, much like a dog would. Ford is leasing the Boston Dynamics Spot robots and deploying them in early August.  

Boston Dynamics' robot dog runs, walks, and prances, rhythmically tapping its four feet before it sinks down on its haunches and crouches. It runs, walks, and prances, rhythmically tapping its four feet before it sinks down on its haunches and crouches.

India and European Union (EU): India and European Union (EU) recently renewed its Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the next five years (2020-2025) at the 15th India-EU Summit, a virtual one which was led by Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi from India’s side.

The European Union delegation was headed by European Council President Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The renewal of the agreement will expand the cooperation in scientific and technological research for economic and social benefit. The Agreement was initially signed in 2001 and renewed two times in 2007 and 2015. The cooperation has been focused on water, green transport, e-mobility, clean energy, bio-economy, health, and ICT.

In the last 5 years, the level of co-investment on India-EU Research Technology Development Projects for addressing societal challenges such as affordable healthcare, water, energy, food & nutrition has been stepped up.

KMF: It refers to the Kutch Mainland Fault. KMF is the major east-west trending fault. The fault line extends for over 150 km from Lakhpat to Bhachau. The crust of Kutch is very fragile and it holds 4 major faults which frequently liberate energy in the form of earthquakes.

Recently, the Kutch Mainland Fault (KMF), which has been dormant for the last 1,000-odd years, has been accumulating stress within and could trigger an earthquake. This was suggested by a recent study. The study also gives evidence that there were 4 major earthquakes on KMF between 5600 and 1000 BP (before present), a time scale used by geologists to define events that happened before the origin of radiocarbon dating technology in the 1950s.

The devastating earthquake had occurred on 26 January  2001 from the South Wagad fault system. 

MoES: It refers to the Ministry of Earth Sciences. MoES was formed in the year 2006 from a merger of the India Meteorological Department, the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and Earth Risk Evaluation Centre, and the Ministry of Ocean Development. The Ministry mandate is to look after Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean Science & Technology and Seismology in an integrated manner.  Currently, the ministry is headed by Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

Recently, MoES announced the winners of “MoES National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science“.

The winners for different categories are:

1. Professor Ashok Sahni was awarded the Life Time Excellence Award 

2. Dr. S. Suresh Babu for National Award for Atmospheric Science & technology

3. N. V. Chalapathi Rao for National award for Geoscience & technology

4. Dr. M. A. Atmanand for National Award for Ocean Technology             

5. Dr. Lidita D. S. Khandeparker for Anna Mani award for woman scientist            

6. Dr. Indra Sekhar Sen for Young Researcher Awards    

7. Dr. V. V. S. S. Sarma fpr National Award for Ocean Science & technology

This award by MoES aims to recognize the major scientific contributions made by eminent scientists and engineers in various fields of Earth System Science. It also seeks to encourage women and young researchers for coming into the mainstream of Earth System Science.

Sports

Legends of Chess: Legends of Chess is a unique online chess event. The tournament is part of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.

Recently, Viswanathan Anand finally won in Legends of Chess tourney making his debut on the Magnus Carlsen Tour. Indian ace, Viswanathan Anand finally snapped the string of defeats at the Legends of Chess online tournament. He beat Boris Gelfand of Israel 2.5-0.5 in the seventh round.

Playing against long-time rival after six straight losses, he won his first game of the tournament despite conceding early advantage on Monday night. Anand won in 45 moves with black pieces and continued the good work by claiming the second game in 49 moves.

The victory moved him to the eighth spot with 6 points ahead of Hungarian Peter Leko (5 points) and Chinese world number three Ding Liren (3). Anand, ranked 15th in the world, faces Liren in the eighth round later.

Carlsen, Liren, Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri, semifinalists at the Chessable Masters (part of the Magnus Carlsen Tour), received an automatic invite and are up against six legends aged 40-52, who have been at the top of world chess at various points in their career.

Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) beat Peter Leko (Hungary) 3-2; Magnus Carlsen (Norway) beat Peter Svidler (Russia) 2.5-1.5: Anish Giri (the Netherlands) beat Ding Liren (China) 2.5-1.5; Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine) beat Vladmir Kramnik (Russia) 3-1.

The winner of the event will qualify for the USD 300,000 Grand Final scheduled from August 9 to 20.

NBA G League: The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League from 2005 until 2017. It was founded in 2001. As of the 2019–20 seasons, the league consists of 28 teams, all of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team. The current president of the league is Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Recently, Indian forward Princepal Singh has signed to play in the NBA G League next season. the announcement was made by the League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

He will train and compete alongside the new G League team featuring elite youth prospects. He is the first NBA Academy graduate to sign with the NBA G League and first NBA Academy India graduate to sign a professional contract.

Princepal Singh: He started playing basketball at the Ludhiana Basketball Academy. He joined The NBA Academy India in 2017 as part of the academy's inaugural class of student-athletes identified through the ACG-NBA Jump Program. NBA Academy India is an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for the top prospects from throughout India. He, on November 2018, transitioned to The NBA Global Academy which is the league's hub for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S.

The Biel International Chess Festival: It is an annual chess tournament that takes place in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland since 1968. It consists of two events, the Grandmaster Tournament, held with the round-robin system, and the Master Open Tournament (MTO), held with the Swiss system.

Recently, Indian Grandmaster, P Harikrishna finished second in the rapid section of the 53rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland. The Biel Chess Festival, the first major event to be played over the board amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is being organized by adhering to all health protocols without any spectators.

The World No. 26 scored 10 points, two less than Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, who finished on top. Earlier, P Harikrishna had finished on top in the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament, with 5.5 points.

Sports Ministry: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India (GoI). It administers Department of youth affairs and Department of Sports in India. The Ministry was set up as the Department of Sports at the time of organization of 1982 Asian Games New Delhi. Its name was changed to the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports during celebration of the International Youth Year, 1985. It became a separate Ministry on 27 May 2000. Subsequently, In 2008, the Ministry was bifurcated into Department of Youth Affairs and Department of Sports under two separate Secretaries. The ministry gives the annual National Sports awards in various categories, including the Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards. The current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports is Kiren Rijiju (MOS independent charge).

Recently, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has constituted a Selection Committee for selecting awardees for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya Awards, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Award and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the year 2020.

The Chairman of the committee is retired Justice of Supreme Court Justice Mukundakam Sharma. The other eminent personality from sports included in the committee are Virender Sehwag (Cricket), Sardar Singh (Hockey), Monalisa Baruah Mehta (Table Tennis), Deepa Malik (Para-athletics), Venkatesan Devarajan (Boxing) as well as well-known media persons including Sports Commentator Manish Batavia and Sports Journalists Alok Sinha and Neeru Bhatia.

The selection committee will also include officials from the Sports Ministry, Director General, SAI, Shri Sandip Pradhan, LS Singh, Joint Secretary (Sports Development) and Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan, CEO Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

Other than this, two additional Members who have been Dronacharya Awardees may be invited by the Chairperson while considering the nomination for Dronacharya Award.

Arts

Pagri Sambhal Diwas: Recently, as part of the ongoing farmers’ protest against the Farms bills, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) celebrated February 23rd as ‘Pagri Sambhal Diwas’ and 24th February as and February 24 was observed as 'Daman Virodhi Diwas'.

Various states in India celebrated Pagdi Sambhal Diwas with processions, mahapanchayats. Southern states sent representatives to Delhi to show their participation in the movement. Southern states sent representatives to Delhi to show their participation in the movement. The supporters across the globe to wore a green pagri/dupatta and posted their pictures on social media, with the hashtag ‘Go green for farmers’.

The motive behind the 'Pagdi Sambhal Diwas' is to reiterate the fact that farmers must be respected and no "repressive measures" should be taken against them.

The farmers also honoured the memory of Ajit Singh, uncle of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and founder of the Pagri Sambhaal movement of 1907.

Background:

• Pagrhi Sambhaal Jatta was a successful farm agitation that forced the British government to repeal three laws related to agriculture back in 1907.

• The slogan, Pagdi Sambhal Jatta, the name of the movement, was inspired by the song by Banke Lal, the editor of the Jang Sayal newspaper.

• It was founded by Bhagat Singh’s uncle Ajit Singh who wanted to channel people’s anger over the farm laws to topple the colonial government.

• The three farm-related acts at the centre of the storm in 1907 were the Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900, the Punjab Land Colonisation Act 1906 and the Doab Bari Act.

• These acts would reduce farmers from owners to contractors of land, and gave the British government the right to take back the allotted land if the farmer even touched a tree in his field without permission.

Significance of Pagri:

• Pagri means Turban in English. During the medieval period, only noblemen were allowed to wear a turban.

• But during the Sikh revolution in the 17th century, Guru Gobind Singh declared it as a symbol of defiance.

• He subverted the selectiveness of a turban, providing the common man with a way to claim and assert their own self-esteem.

• Pagri represents the dignity of the common man.

• In 1907, Pagri Sambhal Jatta was a call to not let the Pagri fall, literally and figuratively.

Oldest Aboriginal Rock Art: A kangaroo painting created over 17,000 years ago by Aboriginal artists has recently been identified in Australia with the help of some ancient wasps.

It has been identified as Australia's oldest intact rock art.

The 2m (6.5ft) artwork which is painted in red ochre on the ceiling of a rock shelter.

It was found in Western Australia's Kimberley region, known for its Aboriginal rock paintings.

Scientists worked with the local Aboriginal community, who can trace their heritage in the region back tens of thousands of years, to establish the age of original rock artworks, many of them worked and reworked over millennia.

Its age was determined by radiocarbon-dating ancient mud wasp nests. The findings were published on 22 February 2021 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Kimberley Region:

Note: This indicates that the earliest style of rock art in Australia focused on animals, similar to the early cave art found in Indonesia and Europe.

The Aboriginal Australians:

• The Kimberley Region is the northernmost region among the 9 regions of Western Australia.

• The region is bordered by Indian Ocean to the west, Timor Sea to the North, Great Sandy to the south.

• It was named after Secretary of State for the Colonies John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley by the government surveyor Alexander Forrest in the year 1879.

• Aboriginal Australians are one of the two distinct groups of Indigenous peoples of Australia, the other being the Torres Strait Islander peoples.

• These people are of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands.

• It is somewhat 17,500 and 17,100 years old.

• Researcher Damien Finch, who pioneered the mud wasp dating technique, said it was rare to find mud wasp nests both on top and underneath a single artwork.

• But the team was able to sample both types to establish the artwork's minimum and maximum ages.

• The work is part of Australia’s largest rock art dating project, funded through an Australian Research Council Linkage Project led by Professor Andy Gleadow at The University of Melbourne called Dating the Aboriginal rock art sequence of the Kimberley in NW Australia.

Magha Purnima: Magha Purnima also known as Maghi Purnima is a day that that falls during the Gregorian calendar month of January or February.

It is known to be a day of the full moon that occurs during the Hindu calendar month of Magh.

During this time period, the auspicious Kumbh Mela is held every twelve years, and the Magha Mela is held on an annual basis at the confluence of three rivers or Triveni Sangam all around north India, such as in cities like Allahabad or Prayag.

About Kumbh Mela:

Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism.

It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites. They are the Allahabad (Ganges-Yamuna Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra).

The festival is one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world, and considered as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims".

It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The festival is observed over many days, with the day of Amavasya attracting the largest number on a single day.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 60 million Hindus gathered for the Kumbh Mela in 2001.

Approximately 30 and 50 million people attended the Allahabad Ardh Kumbh Mela on 10th February 2013 and Maha Kumbh Mela on 4th February 2019 respectively to bathe in the holy river Ganges. It is said to be the largest one-day attendance in the world.

The venue for Kumbh Mela is decided according to the position of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter hold in that period in different zodiac signs.

Since then, Kumbh Mela is celebrated with all the ritual beliefs and people from different aspects gather to celebrate the eve.

Types of Kumbh Melas:

There are different types of Kumbh Mela. They are as follows:

History of Kumbh Mela:

• Maha Kumbh Mela: It is held only in Prayagraj. It comes in every 144 years or after 12 Purna (Complete) Kumbh Mela.

• Purna Kumbh Mela: It comes every 12 years. Mainly held at 4 Kumbh Mela Places in India i.e. Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. It rotates every 12 years at these 4 places.

• Ardh Kumbh Mela: It means Half Kumbh Mela which is held every 6 years in India only at two places i.e. Haridwar and Prayagraj.

• Kumbh Mela: Held at four different places and is organised by the state governments. Millions of people participate with spiritual enthusiasm.

• Magh Kumbh Mela: It is also known as Mini Kumbh Mela which is held annually and only at Prayagraj. It is organised in the month of Magh according to the Hindu calendar.

• The history of Kumbh Mela is related to the days when the Devtas and the Demons conjointly produced nectar of immortality as depicted by the legends.

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP): The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti recently announced the selection of the 12 iconic sites under Phase IV of Swachh Iconic Places (SIP).

Key Highlights of SIP initiative:

SIP initiative is an initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G).

The initiative aims to transform the iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places in the country as ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’.

The 12 iconic places are:

• Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra

• Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh

• Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan

• Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan

• Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

• Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana

• Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha

• Rock Garden, Chandigarh

• Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

• Banke Bihari Temple, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

• Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

• Kalighat Temple, West Bengal

• The main objective of SIP is to achieve a distinctly higher level of sanitation and cleanliness at these places, especially on the peripheries and in approach areas.

• This initiative is focused on cleaning up 100 places across India that are “iconic” due to their heritage, religious or cultural significance.

• This project is being coordinated by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti in association with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and the concerned State/UT governments.

Economics

Central Employment Guarantee Council: The 22nd Meeting of the Central Employment Guarantee Council was recently held on 23.02.2021 under the Chairmanship of Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare,Panchayati Raj and Food Processing Industries, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.

Highlights:

 

• The Central Employment Guarantee Council has been constituted under Section 10 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005.

• Mahatma Gandhi NREGS has played a critical role in providing wage employment to the wage seekers in the current financial year 2020-21 amid the COVID-19 pandemic .

• A total of 344 crore persondays employment was generated so far, which is the highest ever persondays generated and around 44% higher in comparison to that of previous year.

• Around 69 crore new job cards were issued this year as compared to usual about 69 lacs in previous years reflecting the succor it provided to the migrant workers going back to their villages.

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC): Pravas Kumar Singh recently took oath as Member of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

Minister of State for Power (I/C) administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy to him was administered by the Minister of State for Power (I/C) Shri R. K. Singh.

Singh holds LLB Degree. He has worked as Member (legal) in Jharkhand SERC till he was appointed Member, CERC.

About CERC:

The CERC was established by the Government of India (GoI) under the provisions of the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998.

CERC is the Central Commission for the purposes of the Electricity Act, 2003 which has repealed the ERC Act, 1998.

Major functions of CERC under the Act are:

 

• To regulate the tariff of generating companies owned or controlled by the Central Government,

• To regulate the inter-State transmission of electricity and to determine tariff for such transmission of electricity, etc.

• Under the Act, CERC shall also advise the Central Government on formulation of National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy.

• The Commission consists of a Chairperson and 4 other Members including Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority who is the ex-officio Member of the Commission.

MoU between MCA and CBIC for Exchange of Data: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for data exchange between both the organizations.

Key Highlights:

It was signed by Joint Secretary of MCA, Shri Manoj Pandey and the ADG of CBIC, Shri B. B. Gupta.

The MoU came into force on 25 February 2021.

Data Exchange Steering Group:

 

• A Data Exchange Steering Group has been constituted for the initiative.

• The group will meet on regular basis to review the data exchange status.

• It will also take steps to improve effectiveness of data sharing mechanism.

• It is an ongoing initiative of MCA and CBIC, who are already collaborating through various existing mechanisms.

• The move is expected to ease the sharing of data and information between MCA and CBIC on an automatic and regular basis.

• It is in line with the vision of both organisations to harness data capabilities to ensure effective enforcement.

• The agreement will enable sharing of the specific information such as the details of Shipping bill (exports), Bill of Entry (imports) Summary from CBIC and the financial statements filed with the Registrar by Corporates, returns of the allotment of shares.

• In addition, MCA and CBIC will also be able to exchange with each other, on request, any detail available in their databases, for carrying out scrutiny, investigation, inspection and prosecution.

• The data sharing agreement has become more significant in the context of development of MCA21 Version 3.

• The MCA21 version will utilize state of the art technology to enhance ease of doing business across India. It will also improve the regulatory enforcement.

Embargo on Private Banks Lifted For Government Business: The Government has recently lifted the embargo on private sector banks for the conduct of Government-related banking transactions such as taxes and other revenue payment facilities, pension payments, small savings schemes, etc.

Key Highlights:

The decision was announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman.

This step is expected to further enhance customer convenience, spur competition and higher efficiency in the standards of customer services.

 

 

 

• With the lifting of the embargo, there is now no bar on RBI for authorization of private sector banks (in addition to public sector banks) for Government business, including Government agency business.

• This move will enable private banks to conduct Government-related banking transactions include taxes and other revenue payments, pension payments, and small savings schemes.

• Earlier, only a few private banks were permitted to engage in government businesses.

• In 2015, the government had continued with the embargo, and allowed the private sector with existing government agency business to continue without any fresh authorisation to private banks.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for undertaking government agency business, pays a commission to banks.

• The central bank carries out the general banking business of the central and state governments through agency banks appointed under Section 45 of the RBI Act, 1934.

Defence

VL-SRSAM: Its full form is Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile. The Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) recently conducted two successful launches of VL-SRSAM.

Both the launches were carried out from a static vertical launcher from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

The current launches were carried out for demonstration of vertical launch capability as part of its maiden launch campaign.

VL-SRSAM has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO for Indian Navy.

VL-SRSAM is meant for neutralizing various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.

PASSEX Exercise: The Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy conducted bilateral military Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Arabian Sea to strengthen Bilateral Maritime Cooperation.

The military exercise between the navies of both countries aims to enhance operational interoperability and overall cooperation among them.

Indian naval ship INS Talwar represented the Indian naval ship while the Indonesian Navy’s multirole corvette KRI Bung Tomo represented in the exercise.

Participation of Indian Navy in Naval Exercises:

• The Indian Navy has participated in the Maritime Exercises with a number of countries recently including Japan, Russia, Australia and the US, despite the COVID-19 pandemic posing challenges
• Indian Navy had conducted PASSEX with Russian Federation Navy (RuFN)in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in December 2020.
• In September 2020, the PASSEX was conducted Royal Australian Navy in the east Indian Ocean region. It involved advanced surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firing, seamanship exercises, naval maneuvers and Cross Deck Flying Operations. The exercise is usually conducted in the east Indian Ocean region.
• In November 2020, India hosted the Malabar exercise. In the exercise, the navies of US, Japan and Australia took part.
• India had also invited Australia for the Malabar exercise in November 2020 to make the Malabar drill for all the Quad members.

About PASSEX: PASSEXs are conducted regularly by Indian Navy with units of friendly foreign navies, whilst visiting each other's ports or during a rendezvous at sea.

Karbi Insurgency: Recently, 1,040 militants of five militant groups of Karbi Anglong district ceremonially laid down arms at an event in Guwahati in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Highlights:

• The arms-laying ceremony was held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
• The surrendered militants comprised cadres from five outfits

1. Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT),
2. People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK),
3. Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF),
4. Kuki Liberation Front (KLF) and
5. United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA).

• Over 300 weapons and 11,203 bullets were surrendered by the militants.

• This development further bolsters the ‘terrorism-free Assam’ image.
• All these cadres, who have joined the mainstream, are being rehabilitated under the revised scheme of the Union government for the rehabilitation of north-east militants.
• Under this scheme, each cadre is getting a stipend of Rs 6,000 per month and after completion of three years, each of them will receive Rs 4 lakh as one time grant money -- subject to good behaviour.
• Karbi Anglong was once home to several militant outfits of the state, but over the last few years the situation has improved much as many laid down their arms to join the mainstream.

History of Karbi Insurgency:

• Insurgency by Karbi — a major ethnic community of Assam — has had a long history in Assam since the late 1980s.
• These outfits originated from a core demand of forming a separate state.
• The Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and Karbi People's Force (KPF) came together to form the United People's Democratic solidarity (UPDS) in the late 1990s.
• In 2011, UPDS gave up arms and signed a tripatite memorandum of settlement with the Centre and Assam's Government.It settled for enhanced autonomy and special packages for the Karbi Anglong autonomous Council (KAAC).

Significance of the surrender:

• Today, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• This is a very significant development, not only for Karbi Anglong or Assam but also for Nagaland.
• This implies that all insurgent outfits of Karbi Anglong district have now been brought into the mainstream.
• The Karbi Anglong militant outfit joining the mainstream means a decline in the influence of Naga militant outfits in Assam.
• The role of the government is not limited to only bringing back the militants but also is committed to ensuring a life of dignity and respect for those who have surrendered arms by facilitating opportunities for livelihood and employment
• The developments come a year after a peace and development agreement was signed with multiple Bodo militant outfits, bringing an end to a violent movement for a separate Bodoland.

Environment

Caracal: The National Board for Wildlife and Union Ministry of Environment recently included the caracal in the list of critically endangered species.

Highlights:

Caracal is a medium-sized wildcat found in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Though Caracal is not under grave threat in its other habitats but it is on the verge of extinction in India, some experts believe.

These species are listed in the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

The recovery programme for critically endangered species in India now includes 22 wildlife species.

Besides India, the caracal is found in several dozen countries across the Middle East, Africa Central and South Asia.

While it flourishes in parts of Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.

About Caracal:

Caracal is a wildcat.

It has long legs, a short face, long canine teeth, and distinctive ears — long and pointy, with tufts of black hair at their tips.

The iconic ears are what give the animal its name — caracal comes from the Turkish karakulak, meaning ‘black ears’.

In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian name that translates as ‘black Ear’.

A Sanskrit fable too exists about a small wild cat named deergha-karn or ‘long-eared’.

Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species program:

• It is one of the three components of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats(IDWH).
• IDWH was started in 2008-09 as a Centrally sponsored Scheme.
• The scheme is meant for providing support to protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves except tiger reserves), protection of wildlife outside protected areas and recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.
• The 22 wildlife species under the recovery programme are - Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugongs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer, Jerdon’s Courser, Northern River Terrapin, Clouded Leopard, Arabian Sea Humpback Whale, Red Panda and Caracal.

Cremanthodium Indicum: It is the name given to a new species of plant that belongs to the family of Himalayan sunflower.  A group of scientists of three institutes recently discovered this new species of alpine plant in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The details were published in Biodiversitas: Journal of Biological Diversity.

About:

1. Cremanthodium Indicum generally flowers from July to August.
2. It is endemic to the Penga-Teng Tso Lake of Tawang district.
3. As per the IUCN Guideline, this alpine plant species has been listed as critically endangered.

About Alpine Plants:

Alpine plants grow in the alpine climate.

1. Many of the plant species and taxon grow as a plant community in such alpine tundra including perennial grasses, forbs, sedges, mosses, cushion plants and lichens.
2. These plants are adapted to harsh alpine climatic of environmental conditions such as dryness, low temperatures, wind, drought, ultraviolet radiation, poor nutritional soil and a short growing season.

About Alpine Climate:

1. Alpine climate is a typical weather for the regions that occurs above the tree line.
2. It is also called as the mountain climate or highland climate.

About Tree line:

1. Tree line is the edge of habitat at which trees are capable to grow.
2. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes.
3. It the line beyond which the trees cannot tolerate environmental conditions like extreme snowpack, cold temperatures, or associated lack of moisture.

Tawang District:

1. Tawang District is the smallest districts out of the 16 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
2. It has a population of 49,977 which makes the state as eighth least populous district in India.
3. This district is inhabited by the Monpa people.
4. It is famous for its natural beauty, which attracts and enchants the traveler. It is also famous for its 400-year-old monastery which is one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries to be found in India and is an important pilgrim center for the followers of Buddhism.

Vulture-Toxic Drugs: Bangladesh recently has become the first country to ban the painkiller Ketoprogen which is widely used to treat cattle. This painkiller is toxic to Vulture.

This is a landmark move to save the remaining population of globally threatened vultures.

Background:

1. Experts are of the view that similar steps need to be taken by India, Pakistan, Nepal and Cambodia to save the vulture population.
2. Earlier, veterinary diclofenac was also banned some 10 years ago.
3. The government of India banned the use of diclofenac for veterinary purposes in the year 2006.
4. Although other toxic drugs still in use in the country but India came forward to do something seriously for the preservation of this important scavenger bird.
5. In the Arabian Peninsula, Oman became the first country in December 2020, where veterinary use of diclofenac was banned.
6. This was also seen as serious step for the preservation of endangered species such as vultures.
7. Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) report states that ketoprofen is widely used as a main anti-inflammatory drug in Bangladesh.
8. Ornithologists made it absolutely clear that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac and ketoprofen are a major threat to vultures in South Asia.

Indian Policy

Digital Initiatives of MoHUA: Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of Electronics & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad recently launched the National Urban Digital Mission’ (NUDM) and several other digital initiatives with an aim to transform urban governance.

The other digital initiatives of MoHUA are as follows:

1. India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX)
2. SmartCode Platform
3. Smart Cities 2.0 website
4. Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS)

These initiatives are among the ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Electronics and IT to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of citizens.

National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM):

1. NUDM is citizen-centric, ecosystem-driven, and principles-based in both design and implementation.
2. NUDM has articulated a set of governing principles.
3. It inherits the technology design principles of the National Urban Innovation Stack (NUIS), whose strategy and approach was released by MoHUA in February, 2019.
4. This Mission has been launched jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to create a digital infrastructure for cities in India.
5. To provide holistic support to cities and towns, NUDM seeks to create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars - people, process, and platform.
6. The mission aims to institutionalize a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2022 cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns in India by 2024.

India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX):

1. India Urban Data Exchange is a research project under smart cities mission.
2. The IUDX has been developed in partnership between the Smart Cities Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
3. IUDX is designed to address the problem of data silos, both within and across cities.
4. It is being implemented by MoHUA in collaboration with IISc, Bengaluru.
5. The main aim of the project is to create an open source software platform for cities, industry and researchers to share Smart City data with each other.
6. The project would now be expanded eventually leading to a marketplace which means it would be monetized in the future similar to the Unified Payments Interface(UPI) for bank accounts and digital payments.
7. The platform will provide full control to the data owners as to what data to expose and to whom.
8. This will facilitate secure, authenticated and managed exchange of data amongst various data platforms in a uniform and seamless way.

SmartCode Platform:

1. SmartCode is a platform that enables all ecosystem stakeholders to contribute to a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance.
2. It is designed to address the challenges that urban local bodies (ULBs) face in the development and deployment of digital applications to address urban challenges, by enabling cities to take advantage of existing codes and customizing them to suit local needs, rather than having to develop new solutions from scratch.
3. The source code available on the platform will be free to use without any licensing or subscription fees, thus limiting costs to those involved with customising the code and developing a locally-relevant solution.

Smart Cities 2.0 website:

The Smart Cities Mission website has recently been redesigned for the following reasons:

1. To serve as a single stop for all Smart Cities initiatives.
2. To better connection with people on the Smart Cities Missions efforts and achievements.
3. To make it easier for ULBs and citizens to access resources related to their work.

Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS):

1. The GMIS is integrated with Smart Cities 2.0 website.
2. The website has been developed to be used as a highly effective communication and outreach tool.   
3. The website creates a single window hub for Smart Cities Mission.
4. The portal works as a gateway to all the platforms and initiatives launched under the Mission.  
5. The website, through a seamless and a unified interface, aggregates all mission related information/initiatives from the various platforms and show automated mission updates catering to the needs of a public user.  

   Smart Cities Mission:

1. Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and rejuvenation program by the Government of India (GoI).
2. Its main aim is to develop 100 smart cities across the country by 2022 making them citizen friendly and sustainable.
3. The Union Ministry of Urban Development is implementing the mission in collaboration with the state governments of the respective cities.

Draft National Migrant Labour Policy: The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has recently prepared a draft national migrant labour policy.

The policy has been prepared in association with the working subgroup of officials and members of civil society.

The draft policy is inspired by the rights-based approach which gained momentum during during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown when around 10 million migrant workers from cities migrated to their respective villages.

The key highlights of draft national migrant labour policy are as follows:

1. The draft describes two approaches to policy design:

1. The first one is focused on cash transfers, special quotas, and reservations for the labours.
2. The second one is focused on enhancing the agency and capability of the community and thereby removes aspects that come in the way of an individual’s own natural ability to thrive.

1. The policy rejects a handout approach, opting instead for a rights-based framework.
2. The policy seeks to remove the restrictions on true agency and potential of the migrant workers.
3. The policy was formulated with the goal of “not providing any temporary or permanent economic aids as well as the social aids”.
4. Furthermore, the policy maintains that the internal migration should be considered as an integral part of the development and government’s policies should be formulated in such a way that it facilitates the migration and not cause hindrances.

Recommendations as per the draft are as follows:

1. The Ministries of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, and Housing and Urban Affairs to use Tribal Affairs migration data to help create migration resource centres in high migration zones.
2. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to focus on skill-building at these centres.
3. The Ministry of Education (MoE) should take measures under the Right to Education Act to mainstream migrant children’s education, to map migrant children, and to provide local-language teachers in migrant destinations.
4. The MoHUA should address issues of night shelters, short-stay homes, and seasonal accommodation for migrants in cities.

1. The National Legal Services authority (NALSA) and Ministry of Labour should set up grievance handling cells and fast track legal responses for trafficking, minimum wage violations, and workplace abuses and accidents for migrant workers.

National Awards for Technology Innovation in Petrochemicals & Downstream Plastics Processing Industry: Recently, the Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri D V Sadananda Gowda  presented the 10th National Awards for Technology Innovation in Petrochemicals & Downstream Plastics Processing Industry to the Awardees at a function held today at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi .

Highlights:

In line with the National Policy on Petrochemicals announced in April 2007, the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC), Government of India (GoI) has set up an Award Scheme to incentivize meritorious innovations and inventions in the field of polymeric materials, products, process areas of national and social importance.

Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET), an autonomous organization under DCPC has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the scheme of the National Awards for Technology Innovation.

The ultimate objective of this award is to develop and maintain the petrochemical industry as a globally competitive industry using eco-friendly processes & technologies.

Indian polity

Greater Tipraland: Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma has recently announced his new political demand of ‘Greater Tipraland’.

Highlights:

• His announcement came just three months before elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
• As per his claims, this would serve the interest of not only the tribals, non-tribals, Tripuri tribals staying outside Tripura but even those outside India in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other border adjacent areas in Bangladesh.

About Greater Tipraland:

• Greater Tipraland is essentially an extension of the ruling tribal partner Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura's (IPFT) demand of Tipraland, which seeks a separate state for tribals of Tripura.
• The new demand seeks to include every tribal person living in indigenous area or village outside the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) under the proposed model.
• However, the demand is not only restricted simply to the Tripura tribal council areas, but also includes ‘Tiprasa’ of Tripuris spread across different states of India like Assam, Mizoram etc. and even those living in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other bordering areas of neighbouring Bangladesh as well.
• This is an effort by Pradyot to consolidate the tribal vote bank for his organization, The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA).

TTAADC: It is an acronym for Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

• The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Act 1979 was passed by the Indian parliament after a series of democratic movements launched by the Indigenous people of Tripura, under the provision of the 6th scheduled of the Indian constitution.
• The principal objective behind setting up the autonomous district council is to empower the Indigenous people to govern themselves and also to bring all round developments of the backward people so as to protect and preserve their culture, customs, and traditions.
• But it actually came into being on 15 January 1982 and elected members were sworn in on 18 January 1982.
• Later, it was upgraded under the provision of the 6th schedule of the Indian constitution by the 49th constitution (Amendment) act, 1984; with effect from 1 April 1985.
• It covers 68% of the total geographical area of the state and is home to over one-third of the total population of Tripura.
• Its council and assembly are situated in Khumulwng, a town 26 km away from Agartala, the state capital.
• The district council has a total of 30 seats, of which 28 are for elected members, while two are nominated by the governor of Tripura.

About the Tribes of Tripura:

• The Tripuri are an ethnic group originating in the Indian state of Tripura.
• They are the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh.
• Tripura has rich cultural heritage of nineteen different tribal communities namely - Tripura/Tripuri, Uchai, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Halam, Munda, Kaur, Riang, Jamatia, Noatia,Orang, Santal, Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimal, Garo, Khasia, and Lepcha.

President's Rule in Puducherry: The Union Cabinet of India chaired by Prime Minister Modi has recently approved to dissolve the Puducherry Assembly and impose President’s rule in the Union Territory.

• This decision was taken because no party had claimed to form a government in Pondicherry after the chief minister resigned.
• Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had recommeded for the appointment of the President’s Rule in Puducherry following the resignation of the Chief Minister, V Narayanasamy, whose government lost majority power in the assembly.
• The model code of conduct will also come into effect after the Election Commission announced the dates for elections.
• The approval will now be sent to the President, Ramnath Kovind.
• The legislative assembly of the UT (Union Territory) will be dissolved once the President accords his permission.
• Prior to this, the President’s rule was imposed in Puducherry between March and July in 1991 when the JD-DMK coalition government fell.

Note: Under the President’s rule, the Lieutenant Governor becomes the constitutional head of the Union Territory. 

• Earlier, Soundararajan was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor after Kiran Bedi was removed from her post stating she broke constitutional provisions and rules.

Puducherry: Puducherry, (original name Putuccerial) is also known as Pondicherry. It is a union territory (UT) of India. It was formed in 1962 out of four territories of former French establishment, namely Pondichéry, Karikal, Mahé and Yanaon, excluding Chandannagar. It is named after the largest district, Puducherry. It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal and on the three sides by Tamil Nadu.

It was under the French rule for 138 years and merged with the Indian Union on 1st November 1954.

E-Daakhil Portal: E-Daakhil portal which was launched by National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on 7th September, 2020 is now operational in 15 States/UTs.

 Delhi was the first state to implement it on 8th September, 2020.

 

Highlights:

1. Department of Consumer Affairs is now proactively following up with the states to launch e-filing portal at their ends.
2. Web application for E-filing of consumer complaints named “edaakhil.nic.in” has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
3. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which came into force from 20th July, 2020, has the provision for e-filing of consumer complaints in the Consumer Commissions and online payment of the fees for filing a complaint.
4. This digital software for filing consumer complaints has the many features like e-Notice, case document download link & VC hearing link, filing written response by opposite party, fling rejoinder by complainant and alerts via SMS/Email.
5. In order to facilitate rural consumers for e-filing, Common Service Centres (CSC) are also being integrated into this portal.

National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NRCDC):

1. It is a quasi-judicial commission which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
2. It is usually headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India (SCI).

National Informatics Centre (NIC):

1. National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the technology partner of the Government of India (GoI).
2. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
3. It was established in 1976 with an objective to provide technology-driven solutions to Central and State Governments in various aspects of development.
4. NIC has been instrumental in adopting and providing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and eGovernance support to Central Government.
5. The current Director-General (DG) is Neeta Verma.

Court Etiquette: The dichotomy around court etiquettes in India was recently once again triggered on February 23, 2020 after a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde, objected to a petitioner addressing judges as “Your Honour” instead of “Your Lordship” or “My lords.”

The CJI told the petitioner, a law student that when you call judges "Your Honour" you either have the Supreme Court of United States or the Magistrate in mind.

Efforts to end colonial salutations:

• For years, there have been efforts to purge from courtroom protocol salutations such as “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” — a practice inherited from British rule.
• The Advocates Act of 1961, under section 49(1)(c), empowers the Bar Council of India to make rules on professional and etiquette standards to be observed by advocates.
• In light of this, a Resolution by the Bar Council of India in 2006 added Chapter IIIA to Part VI of the BCI Rules.
• In order to show a respectful attitude towards the Court and bearing in mind the dignity of the Judicial Office the form of address to be adopted whether in the Supreme Court and High Courts and in Subordinate Courts should be as follows:
• Lawyers while appearing before the Justices of various High Courts and Supreme Court may address the Courts as either “My Lord” or “Your Lordships” or “Hon’ble Court” while Lawyers appearing before the Subordinate Courts, Tribunals and other Forums may address the Court as “Your Honor” or “Sir” or the equivalent word in respective regional languages.
• However, the Bar Council of India issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that it had passed a resolution in 2019 advising advocates not to use it in High Courts and in the top court to maintain the “graciousness and dignity” of the court. It is not clear if the Rules had been amended in line with the resolution.

Note: The terms used such as “Your Lordship’ and “My Lords” were followed in the British colonial regime and can thus be remarked as a symbol of slavery in the context of the same. On the other hand, the salutations such as “Your Honor” are used in the contemporary American judicial administration.

International

Minister for Loneliness: Japan has recently appointed the first ever Minister for Loneliness amid the increasing suicide rates in Japan.

This step has been taken by the government of Japan as a response to the all-time high suicide rate of the country.

It was for the very first time in the last 11 years that Japan’s suicide rate jumped up.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added a minister of loneliness to his Cabinet earlier this month, following the example of the UK, which in 2018 became the first country to create a similar role.

He appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the country's first Minister of Loneliness. Sakamoto is also in charge of combating the nation's falling birth rate and revitalising regional economies, for the new portfolio.

What is the current suicide rate in Japan?

• In 2020, Japan’s suicide rate rose with 20,919 people taking their lives according to data by the National Police Agency.

What is the cause of the rise in sicide rate in Japan?

• Most experts believe that the problem of escalating suicides in Japan is tied to the country’s culture of loneliness. They are as follows:

Kodokushi:

• The total population of Japan holds a huge number of people belonging to the senescent category.
• More than 20% of the country’s population is more than 65 years and above, which is the highest proportion for that category in the world.
• This has created a huge section of middle-aged and older people who feel they have no one to turn to for help and company.
• Since most ageing people do not socialise much, many of them die alone, with their bodies being discovered a long time after their death. The whole phenomenon is known as ‘kodokushi’, which means ‘lonely death’.
• The people in Japan have the term “KODOKU”. It is a common word in the Japanese local language used to describe both- solitude and loneliness.

Karoshi:

• Japan is one of the countries having the longest working hours so the people hardly have any time   time to spend with their family or friends to get rejuvenated or practice their hobbies.
• In fact, Japan has a term for sudden occupational mortality — ‘karoshi’, which means death due to overwork.

Hikikomori:

• The culture of self-isolation has spiralled to such extremes in the country that there are about one million people who live in absolute self-imposed confinement for many years with no contact with the outside world. These modern-day hermits are called ‘hikikomori’.

Note: According to the Japanese Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry, Japan has over 13 million people living alone.

The ministry estimated that by 2040, about 39% of Japan's 120 million people will live alone.

Japan: Japan is an island country located in East Asia. It is made up of 6,852 islands. The Japanese name for Japan is Nihon or Nippon which means sun origin. It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, and spans from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south. Tokyo is the capital of Japan. The currency used there is Japanese Yen. The current Prime Minister of Japan is Yoshihide Suga.

Least Developed Country (LDC): The United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has recently recommended graduation of Bangladesh from the category of Least Developed Country (LDC).

The recommendation was made by CDP as Bangladesh has fulfilled the eligibility criteria in terms of per capita income, human assets and economic and environmental vulnerability.

This is the second consecutive time since 2018 that the CDP has made recommendation for Bangladesh for graduation from LDC category.

The proposal will be sent to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for endorsement in June to be finally approved by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September this year.

Bangladesh will get time upto 2026 to prepare for the transition to the status of a developing country.

Usually countries are given three years for transition but this year due to the Corona pandemic, Bangladesh has been given five years for the process.

How is the LDC of a country decided by CDP?

• The CDP decides on the LDC status of a country based on three criteria which are:

1. Per capita income,
2. Human assets index
3. Economic vulnerability index

• A country must achieve at least two of the three criteria at two consecutive triennial reviews to be considered for graduation.

Impact of Graduation from LDC:

Graduation from LDC has double edged impact on countries.

• On the one hand certain preferential provisions in export, provision of subsidy to agriculture and infant industries and access to climate finance are likely to cease after transition from LDC.
• On the other hand, enhanced confidence of international financial bodies, improved credit rating and higher FDI are expected to benefit Bangladesh after the transition period is completed.

Bangladesh: It is a country which is bordered by the Indian states of West Bengal to the west and north, Assam to the north, Meghalaya to the north and northeast, and Tripura and Mizoram to the east. To the southeast, it shares a boundary with Myanmar (Burma). The southern part of Bangladesh opens into the Bay of Bengal. Its Capital is Dhaka. The currency used her is Bangladeshi Taka. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh is Sheikh Hasina.

Pakistan in Grey List of FATF: The Global money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently decided to keep Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list”.

FATF President Marcus Pleyer said that Pakistan must demonstrate in taking action against UN-designated terrorists and their associates.

It also said that once Pakistan completes 3 unfulfilled tasks, the FATF will verify and take decision on Islamabad's present status in June plenary.

In its plenary held in October last year, the FATF had kept Pakistan on the grey list citing its failure to fulfill 6 out of 27 obligations of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

Pakistan has been on the grey list since June 2018.

About FATF:

The FATF is an inter-governmental body set up in 1989 to combat money laundering, terror financing and other related threats to the international financial system.At present, it has 39 members.

Churmosquagogue: A new sacred building is coming up in the heart of Berlin, Germany.

It is called the House of One or, colloquially, Churmosquagogue, it incorporates a church, a mosque and a synagogue.

Churmosquagogue is coming up with the aim of bringing Christians, Jews and Muslims to a single place of worship.

The foundation stone will be laid on May 27 by people of these faiths.

A meeting space at the center of the building will be open to people of other faiths and world views as well as the secular urban society.

The House of One is coming up on the site of the old St Peter’s Church, which was damaged in World War II and completely demolished by the government of East Germany in 1964.

Germany: Germany, officially Federal Republic of Germany, German Deutschland or Bundesrepublik Deutschland, country of north-central Europe.  It has over 2 millennia of history. The capital of Germany is Berlin. The currency used here is Euro.

Irakli Garibashvili: The Parliament of Georgia recently confirmed Irakli Garibashvili as Prime Minister along with a vote of confidence in the cabinet Garibashvili put forward.

Garibashvili was defense minister in Gakharia’s Cabinet and is a member of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Garibashvili pledged to create a long-term development strategy for Georgia in his first one hundred days in office.

First, on the agenda, Garibashvili will continue the essential work of the government to ably manage the pandemic and accelerate the focus on rebuilding the economy while continuing to strengthen Georgia’s security and democratic institutions.

Georgia: Georgia, a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia, is a former Soviet Republic. It is bounded on the north and northeast by Russia, on the east and southeast by Azerbaijan, on the south by Armenia and Turkey, and on the west by the Black Sea. Its Capital is Tbilisi. The currency used here is Georgian lari. The current President of Georgia is Salome Zourabichvili.

National

LPG Transportation Through Inland Waterways: Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) recently signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MOL (Asia Oceania) Pte. Ltd., for transportation of LPG through barges on National Waterways-1 and National Waterways-2.

The Memorandum was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mansukh L Mandavia.

Under the Mou:

• The world’s largest gas carrier company, MOL Group will invest to construct and operate dedicated LPG barges under Make-in-India initiative of the Government of India (GoI).

What are the benefits of inland waterway transportation of LPG?

• The benefits of LPG transported by inland waterways are as follows:
• It will help reduce the carbon footprints.
• It will lower the overall logistics cost, which in India stands approx. 13 to 14% of GDP, compared to global average of 8%.
• It will contribute to Government social schemes like “UJJAWLA” for LPG supply.

Significance of the Project:

• Currently, 60% of the LPG is moved through road to the various locations with a cost of ₹5-6 per tonne per kilometre, which the oil companies are interested in reducing.
• At times of strikes by transporters, road blockages also cause delay in transportation.
• In addition, there are also some areas which are difficult to approach through rail or road especially in the North-East region where IWT sector may provide usable solutions.

City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform: The City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform was recently launched by Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Durga Shanker Mishra.

About CiX:

• It is a platform designed on the philosophy of ‘everyone is an innovator’.
• The platform will bring together Citizen Organizations-Academia- Businesses- Government to co-create for the future of Urban India in a transparent and sustainable manner.
• It will connect cities to innovators across the national ecosystem to design innovative solutions for their pressing challenges.
• The platform will ease the discovery, design & validation of solutions through a robust, transparent and user centric process that will reduce barriers for innovators and cities to discover fitting solutions.
• The Platform has more than 400 start-ups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenges statements and over 215 solutions at the time of launch.
• This in among the ongoing efforts of the Government of India (GoI) to realize PM modi's vision of New and AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

India-Ethiopia: India and Ethiopia have recently signed 2 agreements related to visa facilitation and leather technology.

• The agreements were signed in the presence of Ethiopia Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• Demeke Mekonnen Hassen is on a four-day visit to India, since February 16.
• Both India and Ethiopia had useful and productive discussions on several of bilateral and regional issues.
• The ministers of both the countries also agreed to expand the bilateral agenda with respect to the economy, defence, S&T, digital and cultural cooperation.

India-Ethiopia Relations:

• India and Ethiopia bilateral relation has its foundation in the civilizational ties and cultural bonds. The bilateral historic relation dates back to about 2000 years of history.
• In July 1948, the modern diplomatic relations between the two countries were established at the legations level and its raised to the level of ambassadorial in 1952.

Ethiopia: Ethiopia officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somaliland to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west and Sudan to the northwest. The capital Of Ethopia is Addis Ababa (“New Flower”). The currency used here is Ethiopian Birr. The current President and Prime Minister of Ethopia are Sahle-Work Zewde and Abiy Ahmed respectively.

India and Maldives: India and Maldives have recently signed several deals to boost infrastructure.

• The pacts between both the nations were signed during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the Maldives.
• India offered a $40-million line of credit (LoC) to support the development of sports infrastructure in the Maldives.
• Dr Jaishankar also handed over one lakh additional doses of COVID vaccine to Mr Shahid and Maldivian Health Minister Ahmed Naseem.
• An MoU has been signed on an exchange of content and expertise and capacity building between Prasar Bharati and Public State Media, Maldives. The MoU intends to facilitate collaboration and capacity building in the field of public broadcasting.
• India has signed a 50 million dollar Line of Credit agreement in defence sector with the Maldives. The agreement will facilitate capability building in the maritime domain.
• Dr Jaishankar also co-signed the UTF Harbour Project agreement with Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi. He said that the project agreement will strengthen Maldivian Coast Guard capability and facilitate regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief efforts.
• Amendatory Agreement to repurpose an older EXIM Bank of India Line of Credit of USD 25 million for Road Devt. It will re-purpose the balance of the 2011 USD 40 million Line of Credit, for the development of roads across the island which is also a much-needed investment in the Maldives.
• Letter of Intent between EXIM Bank and local authorities for financing a housing project of 2000 units in Hulhumale. This further indicates an increasing interest from Indian investors in the Maldives.
• MoU on grant funding USD 0.5 million for a fish processing plant in Kendhikulhudhoo in the northern Maldives. The agreement will allocate Indian grant assistance under the High Impact Community Development Projects Scheme for the further development of small-scale fish processing plants in the Maldives.
• MoU on sustainable urban development between MoHUA and Ministry of national planning, housing and infrastructure, Maldives.

People In News

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship: Professor Velcheru Narayana Rao who is a distinguished scholar, writer, translator and critic, has been elected honorary fellow of Sahitya Akademi.

The general council of Sahitya Akademi, in its ninety second meeting, under the chairmanship of Dr Chandrasekhar Kambar, took the decision.

His election was made based on his contribution to the Telugu literature.

His publications include Girls for Sale: Kanyashulkam and A play from Colonial India.

About the Award:

1. The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
2. It is conferred annually on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages, i.e., English, Rajasthani, and the 22 listed languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognised by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
3. It is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a living writer, the number of fellows at no time exceeding 21.
4. Established on 12 March 1954, the award comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹ 1,00,000.
5. The plaque awarded by the Sahitya Akademi was designed by the Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray.
6. During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the plaque was substituted with national savings bonds.
7. Elected from among writers thought by the Akademi to be of acknowledged merit, the fellows are sometimes described as the "immortals of Indian literature."
8. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first writer elected to the Fellowship; Mulk Raj Anand was the first Indian English writer to be inducted in 1989.

About Sahitya Akademi:

1. The Akademi functions as an autonomous organisation. It was registered as a society on 7 January 1956, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
2. Sahitya Akademi gives some other awards like: Bhasha Samman Puraskar, Prize for Translation and Bal Sahitya Puraskar.
3. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

UN Goodwill Ambassador: Recently, Natalia Vodianova who is a Russian supermodel and philanthropist became a United Nations (UN) goodwill ambassador, to promote the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls and tackle stigmas surrounding their bodies.

She will be a campaigner for the UN Population Fund, which now calls itself the UN”s sexual and reproductive health agency, known as UNFPA.

About UNFPA:

1. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide.

1. UNFPA promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. There are close links between sustainable development, reproductive health and gender equality.
2. It was founded in 1969.
3. It is headquartered in New York, New York, United States.
4. The current head of UNFPA is Natalia Kanem.

Vijay Sampla: Former Union Minister Vijay Sampla has recently assumed the charge of Chairman National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).

About :

• He has been the State President of BJP from Punjab and the Union Minister of State.
• From 2009-12, he served as the Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board, Punjab.
• His name was also recommended for the Rashtrapati Award.
• He won the General Elections of 2014 from ‘Hoshiarpur’ Constituency of Lok Sabha.
• He has been the former Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment from 2014 to 2019.
• He has been actively involved in the welfare and upliftment of deprived classes of society.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC):

• NCSC is an Indian constitutional body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• It works for the socio-economic development of the scheduled castes and to prevent atrocities against them.
• It was founded on 19 February 2004.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Places In News

Civil Services Examination (CSE), in Leh: Recently, in a first of its kind the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) opened a new centre for the Civil Services Examination (CSE), in Leh for the candidates from Union Territory Ladakh.

The sanction of a new centre for CSE in Leh is a great relief for the aspiring candidates.

Leh will be the 73rd centre in the country to hold the preliminary exam for Civil Services on 27th of June this year.

Leh Deputy Commissioner will be the Coordinating Supervisor for the Leh centre.

At least 800 candidates are expected to attend the civils preliminary exam from the Union Territory Ladakh.

Leh: Leh is the joint capital and largest town of the union territory of Ladakh in India. Leh was an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west and also between India and China for centuries. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) is in charge of governance in Leh. It has 30 councillors, 4 nominated and 26 elected. The Chief Executive Councillor heads and chairs this council. The 'Deputy Commissioner, Leh' also holds the power of 'Chief Executive Officer of the LAHDC'. The Current Deputy Commissioner of Leh district is Sachin Kumar Vaishya.

Thrissur Power Transmission Project: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the 320 KV Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) - Thrissur (Kerala) power transmission project.

Highlights:

• It is a Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Project and has India's first HVDC link featuring state-of-the-art VSC technology.
• It has been built at a cost of Rs 5070 crores.
• It will facilitate transfer of 2000 MW power from the western region and help meet the growth in load for the people of Kerala.
• This VSC based system features integration of HVDC XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) cable with overhead lines which saves right-of-way as well as has 35-40% less land footprint compared to conventional HVDC system.

Development Projects in Coimbatore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated and laid foundation stone of various development projects in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Highlights:

He dedicated to the nation the 1000 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project and 709 MW Solar Power Project of NLC India Limited (NLCIL) (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited).

He inaugurated the 8-laning of Korampallam Bridge and Rail Over Bridge (ROB) at V.O.Chidambaranar Port and the tenements constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme.

He laid the foundation stone for design, supply, installation and commissioning of a 5MW grid connected ground based solar power plant at V.O.Chidambaranar Port and for the extension, renovation and modernization of Lower Bhavani Project System.

He also laid the foundation stone for development of Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) in nine Smart Cities including Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur, Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Tiruppur, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi.

Competition Commission of India (CCI): Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman recently inaugurated the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) Regional Office (South) in Chennai.

The regional office will cater to the requirements of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and the union territories Puducherry and Lakshadweep.

The Chennai Office of CCI will act as an office to facilitate enforcement, investigation, advocacy function in coordination with Delhi office

About CCI:

• Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a statutory body of the Government of India
• It has been established under the provisions of The Competition Act, 2002.
• It was established on 14 October 2003.
• It comprises of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Its proceding agency is Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission.
• Ashok Kumar Gupta is the current Chairperson of the CCI.
• It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout the country which prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position by enterprises.
• It regulates mergers and acquisition (M&A) which can have an adverse effect on competition within India. Thus, deals beyond a certain threshold are required to get clearance from CCI.

Saras Aajeevika Mela: The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar recently inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 at Noida Haat. The event started on February 26, 2021 and will continue till 14th March 2021.

More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsman from 27 states are participating in the Mela which is being by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women in Self Help Groups (SHGs).

He said that these SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life.

Science and Technology

Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2): Recently, a new Lead (Pb) free material which can efficiently convert waste heat to power our small home equipment and automobiles has been found.

Details:

• Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of have now identified a lead-free material called Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2).
• Most efficient thermoelectric materials developed by scientists so far use Lead (Pb) as a major constituent element, restricting their use for mass-market applications.
• This material which can efficiently allow recovery of electricity from ‘waste heat’ marking a paradigm shift in the thermoelectric puzzle.
• This work is supported by Swarna-Jayanti fellowship and project fund from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), India.

About Waste Heat:

• Energy conversion is not a very efficient process.
• Only a small fraction of energy that is used is actually productive.
• The rest of it becomes waste, often getting released as heat.
• This waste heat can be tapped, and further converted into electrical energy.

DIWALI: It is an abbreviation for Dutch Indian Water Alliance for Leadership Initiative. Recently, in order to find solutions for water related challenges a platform called DIWALI has been developed.

Under the DIWALI platform, Both India and Netherlands could participate for designing solution for water challenges.

Highlights:

• The consortium of experts from the two counties would explore the potential and sustainability of Dutch Solutions to resolve challenges in specific water challenged sites in India which are scalable, sustainable and affordable.
• It is being led by Dutch consortia titled “Water for Change. Integrative and Fit-for-Purpose Water Sensitive Design Framework for Fast Growing Livable Cities” and
• IIT Roorkee as lead along with other consortia member named MANIT, Bhopal; CEPT University, Ahmedabad; IIT Gandhinagar; CWRDM, Calicut.
• In addition, based on assessment of R&D needs for cleaning of Ganga system and study on impacts of agriculture on quality and quantity of water in its basin, the DST and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is stimulating sustainable research collaboration between the two countries.
• They are supporting joint research in which 13 Indo-Dutch proposals involving premier research and academic organizations from both sides have been funded.

Devasthal Telescope: It is a world-class 3.6 meter optical telescope set up at Devasthal which has recently assumed global importance for observing a number of time-critical cosmic explosive events such as Gamma Ray Bursts and Supernovae.

Key Highlights:

• This telescope is the Asia’s largest fully steerable optical telescope.
• It was set up in year 2016 by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous research institute of DST with support from Belgian government and established India’s role as a global player in astronomy research.
• It is facilitating strong future collaborations with national, international institutions and industries.
• The technological know-how gained from the development of this telescope and back-end instruments are beneficial for optical facilities planned for future such as the Thirty Meter Telescope – one of the mega projects in which the country is participating.

About Devasthal:

• Devasthal is a picturesque mountain peak in Uttarakand from which the snowcapped Himalayas is clearly visible and the nearest settlement is 8 Km away.

• The tranquil place far from the maddening crowd however stands out from many such hilly spots is being a symbol of India’s rising position in global science and technology.

Carbon Watch: It is a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual. Recently, Chandigarh became the first state or Union Territory in India to launch Carbon Watch.

Highlights:

• The app focuses on individuals’ actions and calculates carbon footprint on the basis of Transport, Energy, Waste and Water consumption.
• Although the app can be accessed by everyone, it has specific options for the residents of Chandigarh to compile a detail study.
• The application can be downloaded through a QR code in Android supported smart cell phones.
• As a person downloads the application, they will need to fill details in four categories. They are as follows:

1. In the category of Water, the person will be required to inform about the consumption of water.
2. In the Energy category, the details regarding the electricity units consumed every month at the house, monthly bill etc and usage of solar energy will have to be furnished.
3. In the Waste category, the individual will need to inform about the waste generated on their part and their family.
4. In the transport section, the individual will have to inform them about the mode of transport used by the- four-wheeler, two-wheeler or bicycle.

• With the mentioned information, the mobile application will automatically calculate the carbon footprint of the individual.
• The application will also provide information such as the national and world average of the emission, and the individual’s level of emission generation.
• It encourages people to be Climate-Smart Citizens while suggesting methods to reduce the carbon footprints as per the information furnished by the individuals.

What is Carbon Footprint?

• Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity.

Dr Swati Mohan: The world witnessed the historic landing of NASA's Perseverance rover on the Martian surface.

It was Indian-American scientist, Swati Mohan, who led the guidance, navigation, and control operations of the Mars 2020 mission.

Indian-American Dr Swati Mohan spearheaded the development of attitude control and the landing system for the rover.

She is the key communicator between the GN&C subsystem and the rest of the project's teams.

About:

Dr Mohan had emigrated from India to the United States at the age of One. She was raised in Northern Virginia and Washington DC metro area. She completed her bachelor's degree from Cornell University in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and her M.S. and Ph.D from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Aeronautics/Astronautics.

She has worked on Mars-2020 since almost the beginning of the project in 2013 and is currently working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

National Science Day: National Science Day is observed on 28th of February every year across India.

The day is celebrated to commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’.

On this day, Physicist CV Raman announced the discovery of the 'Raman Effect' for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930.

The day is aimed at spreading the message of the importance of science and its application in human life.

The theme for National Science Day 2021 is ‘Future of Science and Technology and Innovation: Impact on Education Skills and Work'.

With a view to promote science and innovation, the government presents the National Science Communication Awards on this day.

The award was instituted in 1987.

Sports

Narendra Modi Stadium: The world’s largest Motera cricket stadium has recently been renamed from Sardar Patel Stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium.

The Government stated that the name change involves only the Motera stadium and the sports complex where it is located will continue to be named after Sardar Patel.

The stadium was renamed soon after President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the stadium in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju among a host of other dignitaries.

It opens with the third Test between India and England, a day-night game from Wednesday, and will also host the fourth and final game of the series from March 4.

About Motera Stadium:

• Motera Stadium is a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• It is spread over 63 acres.
• The stadium has been built at an estimated cost of ₹800 crore and with a seating capacity for 1,32,000 spectators.
• It has surpassed the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground which can accommodate 90,000.
• The total area is equivalent to 32 Olympic size soccer fields put together.
• Australian architect firm Populous, which designed the Melbourne Cricket Stadium, among others, is the architect of the new stadium.

Note: This rebuilt stadium was witness to some major milestones in Indian cricket in its previous avatar.

• Sunil Gavaskar reached the 10,000 run-mark in Test cricket here against Pakistan in 1987.
• In 1994, Kapil Dev claimed his 432nd Test wicket to become the highest wicket-taker in the world, surpassing Sir Richard Hadlee.

Additional Info:

Naming stadiums after a politician is in line with a decades-old practice in Indian sport, especially cricket.

• Mumbai’s Brabourne and Wankhede Stadiums were named after individuals who were alive at the time.
• The same is the case with Navi Mumbai’s D Y Patil Stadium, Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and Chennai’s M A Chidambaram Stadium.
• Mohali’s PCA Stadium was renamed after former BCCI and Punjab Cricket Association president I S Bindra in 2015.
• The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi was renamed Arun Jaitley Stadium in 2019.

Australian Open 2021 Tennis Championship:  Australia's Novak Djokovic and Japan's Naomi Osaka recently won the Australian Open 2021 Tennis Championship.

Naomi Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title on February 20, 2021, after she beat American Jennifer Brady in the women’s singles while In Men’s single final, Novak Djokovic claimed his ninth Australian Open crown and the 18th Major Grand Slam overall, as he defeated Daniil Medvedev.

The 23-year-old Osaka has become the only third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win their first four major finals. The four Grand Slam title for her comes two Australian Open title (2021 and 2019) and two US Open title (2018 and 2020).

Winners of Australian Open 2021 are as follows:

• Men’s Singles – Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
• Women’s Singles – Naomi Osaka (Japan) defeated Jennifer Brady (US)
• Men’s Doubles –Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polášek (Slovakia )defeated Rajeev Ram (US) and Joe Salisbury (UK)
• Women’s Doubles – Elise Mertens (Belgium) and Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) defeated Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic) and KateÅ™ina Siniaková(Czech Republic )
• Mixed Doubles – Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) and Rajeev Ram of US defeated the Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and Matthew Ebden.

Dushyant Chautala: Dushyant Chautala has recently been re-elected as the President of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for a period of four years.

The 32-year-old was elected unanimously during the 84th annual meeting of the TTFI, on February 24, 2021.

He is also the current Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana.

He was first elected as President of the TTFI in January 2017, becoming the youngest President in the history of TTFI.

Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI):

• The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is the governing body for table tennis in India.
• The TTFI was established in 1926.
• It was a founding member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
• TTFI's membership includes 32 state units and 37 institutions.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

Arts

Harekrushna Mahtab:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the Hindi translation of the book ‘Odisha Itihaas’ written by ‘Utkal Keshari’ Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab on 9th April 2021.

Key points:

1. The event marking the release of the Hindi version has been organised by Harekrushna Mahtab Foundation.
2. The book is available in Odia and English so far.
3. It has been translated into Hindi by Shri. Shankarlal Purohit.

About the Author

1. Harekrushna Mahtab was a notable figure in the Indian Independence Movement.
2. He also served as Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 to 1961.
3. He wrote the book ‘Odisha Itihaas’ in Ahmednagar Fort Jail, where he was imprisoned for more than two years during 1942-1945.

 

Harichand Thakur:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently paid homage to Harichand Thakur on his Jayanti.

About Harichand Thakur:

1. Harichand Thakur (1812 – 1878), worked among the untouchable people of Bengal Presidency.
2. He formed the Matua sect of Hindus.

About Matua:

1. Matua is a sect of Vaisnavite Hinduism who are Namasudras, a Scheduled Caste group.
2. Matua Mahasangha (MMS) is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in Bengal with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal.

 

Advanced Antiquities Management System (AAMS):

The Directorate of Archives and Archaeology (DAA) of the Goa government recently inaugurated the AAMS.

Advanced Antiquities Management System (AAMS) inaugurated on March 30 is claimed to be the first such system in the country for storage of antiquities.

About AAMS:

1. The Advanced Antiquities Management System (AAMS) is a software-driven automated storage used for the storage of various objects.
2. The system that catalogues 83 antiquities at present is aimed at providing quick information about an antiquity linked to the software, saving storage space and ensuring improved preservation of the objects of historical significance.
3. So far it has been used for storage of industrial equipment but the decision of Goa’s DAA to use it for storing valuable antiquities is the first such in the country.
4. The AAMS will ensure safety of antiquities, clean storage space, access control and data management and also enhance utilization of space.
5. The AAMS is placed at Goa’s DAA in Panaji.

Economics

Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021:

The Government of India (GoI) recently notified Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021.

Key points:

• In India, at present, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013.
• The Copyright Rules, 2013 was last amended in the year 2016.

Objectives of the amendments:

• The main objectives of the amendments are as follows:
• To bring the existing Copyright rules in India with parity with the other relevant legislations.
• To ensure smooth and flawless compliance in the light of technological advancement in digital era.
• A new provision regarding publication of a copyrights journal has been incorporated, thereby eliminating the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette.
• The said journal is available at the website of the Copyright Office.
• In order to encourage accountability and transparency, new provisions have been introduced, to deal with the undistributed royalty amounts and use of electronic and traceable payment methods while collection and distribution of royalties.
• To reinforce transparency in working of copyright societies a new rule has been introduced, whereby the copyright societies will be required to draw up and make public an Annual Transparency Report for each financial year.
• The amendments have harmonized the Copyright Rules with the provisions of Finance Act, 2017 whereby the Copyright Board has been merged with Appellate Board.
• The compliance requirements for registration of software works have been largely reduced, as now the applicant has the liberty to file the first 10 and last 10 pages of source code, or the entire source code if less than 20 pages, with no blocked out or redacted portions.
• The time limit for the Central Government to respond to an application made before it for registration as a copyright society is extended to 180 days, so that the application can be more comprehensively examined.

About Copyright:

• It is a type is intellectual property.
• It gives the owner exclusive right to make copies of his or her creative work. It can be education, artistic, literary or music.
• According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Copyright protects 2-types of rights.
• They are Economic rights and moral rights.
• Economic rights allow the owners to derive financial reward from the use of their works while the moral rights allow authors to take certain actions to protect their link with their work.

Spices Board India:

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between Spices Board India and UNDP India’s Accelerator Lab.

Aim:

• The aim is to build a blockchain based traceability interface for Indian spices to enhance transparency in supply chain and trade.

About:

• The project will be piloted with over 3,000 farmers engaged in chilli and turmeric farming in select Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

What is blockchain?

• Blockchain is a decentralized process of recording transactions on an open and shared electronic ledger.
• This allows for ease and transparency in data management across a complex network, including, farmers, brokers, distributors, retailers and consumers, thus simplifying the supply chain.

About Spices Board:

• Spices Board is an autonomous body responsible for the export promotion of the 52 scheduled spices and development of Cardamom (Small & Large).
• It is one of the five Commodity Boards functioning under the Ministry of Commerce &Industry.

Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PPIRP):

The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 on 4th April 2021.

• The ordinance will allow pre-packaged insolvency resolution process for MSMEs. The Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process is called PPIRP.

Aim:

• The ordinance aims to provide an efficient alternative insolvency resolution process for the corporate persons classified as MSMEs.

About the Ordinance:

The ordinance introduces a pre-packaged insolvency resolution process for corporate persons classified as MSMEs under the MSME Development Act, 2006.

Chapter III-A has been introduced to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 under the amendment.

It explains the initiation of resolution, duties of resolution professional and eligibilities to take the benefits of pre-packaged insolvency resolution processes, etc.

How will the ordinance prove beneficial to the corporate?

• The ordinance allows the corporate debtor to submit a “base resolution plan” to the resolution professional.
• However, the debtor should have the plan ready before approaching the creditors to initiate PIRP.
• If the committee of creditors did not approve the plan, then the resolution professional shall invite applicants to submit different plans.
• The PPIRP Regulations detail the Forms that stakeholders are required to use, and the manner of carrying out various tasks by them as part of the PPIRP.
• These provide details and manner relating to:

1. Eligibility to act as resolution professional, and his terms of appointment
2. Eligibility of registered valuers and other professionals
3. Information memorandum
4. Identification and selection of authorized representative
5. Public announcement and claims of stakeholders
6. Meetings of the creditors and committee of creditors
7. Invitation for resolution plans
8. Competition between the base resolution plan and the best resolution plan
9. Vesting management of corporate debtor with resolution professional
10. Evaluation and consideration of resolution plans
11. Termination of PPIRP

PLI Scheme 'National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules':

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy's proposal for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 'National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV (Photo Voltic) Modules.

• The scheme was approved for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in high efficiency solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs 4,500 crore.

Highlights:

• Solar PV manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.
• PLI will be disbursed for 5 years post commissioning of solar PV manufacturing plants, on sales of high efficiency solar PV modules.
• The outcomes and benefits expected from the scheme are as follows:

1. Additional 10,000 MW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants
2. Direct investment of around Rs.17,200 crore in solar PV manufacturing projects
3. Demand of Rs.17,500 crore over 5 years for 'Balance of Materials'
4. Direct employment of about 30,000 and Indirect employment of about1,20,000 persons
5. Import substitution of around Rs.17, 500 crore every year
6. Impetus to Research & Development to achieve higher efficiency in solar PV modules

Defence

Advanced Chaff Technology:

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently developed an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard the naval ships against enemy missile attack.

Key Points:

Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ), a DRDO laboratory, has indigenously developed three variants of this technology namely

1. Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR),
2. Medium Range Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and
3. Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR) meeting Indian Navy’s requirements.

What is Chaff?

• Chaff is a passive expendable electronic countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers.

Significance:

• The importance of this development lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles for safety of the ships.

NanoSniffer:

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ recently launched NanoSniffer, the world’s first Microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD).

Main Points:

• This home-grown Explosive trace detector device (ETD) - NanoSniffer can detect explosives in less than 10 seconds.
• It also identifies and categorizes explosives into different classes.
• It is capable of detecting all classes of military, conventional and homemade explosives. It gives visible & audible alerts with sunlight-readable color display.

Make in India:

• NanoSniffer is a 100% Made in India product in terms of R&D and manufacturing.
• It has been developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup and has been marketed by Vehant Technologies, a spin-off from a former IIT Delhi incubated startup Kritikal Solutions.

Significance:

• This affordable device will reduce India's dependence on imported explosive trace detector devices.

La Pérouse:

It is a multi-lateral maritime exercise that is being conducted in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region from 05 to 07 April 2021.

Highlights:

• Indian Navy Ships INS Satpura and INS Kiltan along with P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft are participating, for the first time in this maritime exercise.
• The Indian Navy ships and aircraft will exercise at sea with ships and aircraft of French Navy (FN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and United States Navy (USN) during the three day exercise at sea.
• The exercise La Pérouse is led by French Navy.
• Exercise La Pérouse will witness complex and advanced naval operations including surface warfare, anti-air warfare and air defence exercises, weapon firing exercises, cross deck flying operations, tactical maneuvers and seamanship evolutions such as replenishment at sea.

Environment

Dolphins in Chilika Lake:

The population of dolphins in Chilika and along the Odisha coast has doubled this year compared with last year.

About Chilika Lake:

1. Chilika Lake is India’s largest brackish water lake and a shallow lagoon with estuarine character.
2. It is spread across Puri, Khurda and Ganjam in Odisha.

Highlights:

1. A final data on the dolphin census conducted in January and February this year, indicating a spectacular growth in numbers was recently released by the State Environment Department .
2. Three species were recorded during the census, with 544 Irrawaddy, bottle-nose and humpback dolphins sighted this year, compared with 233 last year.
3. The endangered Irrawaddy dolphins are mostly found in Chilika lake.
4. Few were also sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove division.
5. The highest growth has been noticed in the case of humpback dolphins with a population of 281.
6. These humpback dolphins were not part of any riverine systems, so they cannot be identified as residential mammals.
7. They were spotted travelling along the Odisha coast and the number is likely to fluctuate in the next census.

Indus and Ganges River dolphins:

In the recent research, the detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species.

Main Points:

1. At present, Indus and Ganges River dolphins are classified as two subspecies under Platanista gangetica.
2. But according to a new study, this classification needs a revision.
3. The study estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around 550,000 years ago.

Conservation Status:

1. The Indus and Ganges River dolphins are both classified as ‘Endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
2. The Ganges dolphin is a Schedule I animal under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and has been included in Annexure – I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

About IUCN:

1. The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN (officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
2. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.
3. It was founded on 5 October 1948 by Julian Huxley.
4. It is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland.
5. The current IUCN CEO is Grethel Aguilar.

Indian Policy

Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP):

The Union Minister of Health, Harsh Vardhan recently launched the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).

• India has become the first country to adopt such an advanced disease surveillance system.

About IHIP:

• The IHIP is the next generation highly refined version of the presently used Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
• Health Minister Vardhan stated that India is the first country in the world to adopt such an advanced disease surveillance system.
• The new version of IHIP will house the data entry and management for India’s disease surveillance program.
• Earlier only 18 diseases could be tracked but now it has become possible to track 33 diseases with the help of IHIP.
• It seeks to ensure near-real-time data in digital mode, having done away with the paper-mode of working.
• Terming this as the world's biggest online disease surveillance platform, he said that it is in sync with the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).

Monetary Policy:

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has recently decided to keep its short term lending rate or the repo rate unchanged at 4%, in line with market expectations.

Key Points:

• The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, while announcing the monetary policy said that the central bank will maintain its ‘accommodative stance’ as long as required to sustain growth on a durable basis.
• The reverse repo rate also stayed unchanged at 3.35 per cent.
• The MPC committee members voted unanimously in favour of the decision.
• The RBI has maintained its GDP growth forecast at 10.5 per cent for 2021-22.

Measures for liquidity:

• The RBI also announced a series of measures to inject liquidity in the government securities market and the financial system.
• The apex bank will ensure orderly conduct of government borrowing programme.
• In this respect, the central bank announced a secondary market government securities (G-sec) acquisition plan worth Rs 1 lakh crore for April-June.
• Amid the government plans to support a new asset reconstruction company being set up by banks, the RBI has decided to set up a committee to review the working of ARCs to ensure how better these entities can support the financial sector.
• In the policy review, the RBI decided to extend the RTGS and NEFT payments platforms to prepaid payment instruments, white label ATMs as well.

Repo rate:

• It is also known as the benchmark interest rate.
• It is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the banks for a short term.
• When the repo rate increases, borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

About Monetary policy:

• Monetary Policy is the central bank’s policy which uses the monetary instruments like Repo rate, Reverse repo rate, Liquidity Adjustment Facility and many others, to achieve the goals stated in the Act.
• In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been given the responsibility of conducting monetary policy as mandated under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

RBI:

• It refers to the Reserve Bank of India.
• The RBI is India's central bank, which controls the issue and supply of the Indian rupee.
• It carries out India's monetary policy and exercises supervision and control over banks and non-banking finance companies in India.
• RBI was set up in 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act,1934.
• It is headquartered in Mumbai.
• RBI plays an important part in the Development Strategy of the Government of India.
• The current Governor of RBI is Governor Shaktikanta Das

Anamaya:

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan and the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda jointly launched ‘Anamaya’, the Tribal Health Collaborative recently through video conference.

• The initiative, launched on April 07, 2021, is supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

About the Anamaya:

• Anamaya is a multi-stakeholder initiative to enhance the health and nutrition status of the tribal communities of India by converging efforts of various Government agencies and organizations.
• As part of this Collaborative, the Ministry will undertake several activities such as the follows:
• The National Council on Tribal Health to drive policy initiatives in tribal health
• The establishment of a Health Cell to closely monitor healthcare delivery in the tribal areas Devising mechanisms to implement the Tribal Health Action Plan.

SARTHAQ:

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal recently chaired a high-level meeting on the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and released an implementation plan for school education called SARTHAQ.

• SARTHAQ stands for ‘Students’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through Quality Education’.

About the “SARTHAQ”:

• SARTHAQ is developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy.
• It is an indicative and suggestive implementation plan for school education and was released as part of the celebrations leading to the Amrit Mahotsav on 75 years of India’s independence.
• The plan keeps in mind the concurrent nature of education and adheres to the spirit of federalism.
• States and UTs are given the flexibility to adapt this plan with local contextualisation and also modify it as per their needs and requirements.

Indian polity

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI):

The Supreme Court (SC) recently told the government that interim appointments to the post of CBI Director cannot go on.

Key Points:

1. The remark came during the hearing of a petition filed by non-governmental organization Common Cause, represented by senior counsel Prashant Bhushan. His objection was the appointment of Praveen Sinha as interim CBI Director following the retirement of Rishi Kumar Shukla on February 2.
2. The petition stated that the government had failed to appoint a regular Director through the high-power selection committee of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of Opposition.
3. The Common Cause has argued that an interim appointment through an executive order was not envisaged in the statutory scheme of the 1946 Act. The CBI Director is a sensitive post. The Director is the final authority in the organisation in several sensitive investigations.
4. The agency should function independently outside the pale of the Executive or political powers.
5. This was exactly why a high-powered committee selects the CBI Director.

About Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI):

1. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India.
2. It was founded on 1 April 1963
3. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
4. Originally, it was set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption.
5. However, in 1965, it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India (GoI), multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases.
6. CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act.
7. CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
8. The current interim director of the CBI is Praveen Sinha.
9. The CBI headquarter is located in New Delhi.

Central Vigilance Officers:

The Central Vigilance Commission officers are to be transferred every 3 years.

Key facts:

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) recently modified the guidelines pertaining to the transfer and posting of officials in the vigilance units of government organizations restricting their tenure to three years at one place.

As per the latest guidelines:

• The tenure may be extended to three more years, albeit at a different place of posting.
• According to the CVC, undue long stay of an official in a vigilance department had the potential of developing vested interests, apart from giving rise to unnecessary complaints or allegations.
• So, personnel who have worked for over three years at one place should be transferred in phases, with priority given to those who have served for the maximum period.
• In order to emphasis on the importance of the issue and to ensure transparency, objectivity and uniformity in approach, the Commission has decided to modify its earlier guidelines
• The first phase of transfer or posting has to be completed by May 31.
• The exercise of transferring all the personnel in question should be completed by June 30
• After transfer from the vigilance unit, there would be a compulsory cooling off period of three years before anyone could be considered again for posting in the unit.

About Central Vigilance Commission (CVC):

• CVC is an apex Indian governmental body which was established on 11 February 1964 to address governmental corruption.
• The Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC in 2003.
• It is an autonomous body which is free of control from any executive authority.
• It is charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
• It submits its report to the President of India.
• The first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India was Nittoor Srinivasa Rau

Note: The Central Government, Lokpal and Whistle blowers can approach the CVC.

Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT):

The Government of India (GoI) by an ordinance recently abolished the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

Key Points:

1. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) has been dissolved by the Ministry of Law and Justice with immediate effect.
2. The ministry promulgated an ordinance — The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 — on 4th April for the same.
3. The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, which came into effect on April 4, amends the Cinematograph Act, 1952 by omitting some sections and replacing the word “Tribunal” with “High Court” in other sections.
4. This means that the filmmakers will now have to approach the High Court whenever they want to challenge a CBFC certification, or lack of it.
5. The sudden move has upset many filmmakers.

About Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT):

1. FCAT was a statutory body constituted set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in 1983, under Section 5D of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
2. The tribunal was headed by a chairperson who was assisted by four other members, including a Secretary appointed by the Government of India (GoI) to look after the day-to-day affairs of the FCAT.
3. Its main job was to hear appeals filed under Section 5C of the Cinematograph Act, by applicants for certification aggrieved by the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
4. It was headquartered in New Delhi.

SUPACE: The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has recently launched its Artificial Intelligence portal “SUPACE” (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency).

Highlights:

1. SUPACE was unveiled on April 06, 2021 by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde.
2. Justice L Nageshwara Rao, who is also the chairman of the SC’s Artificial Intelligence Committee, delivered the opening address during the virtual launch of SUPACE.

About SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency):

1. SUPACE is the first of its kind in the world that collects relevant facts and laws related to the case, thereby easing the research process for Judges.
2. It as a ‘hybrid system’ and ‘a perfect blend of human intelligence and machine learning’ that does wonder when paired with human intelligence.
3. The system has not been designed to take decisions but to process information and to make them available to the Judges to take a decision.
4. Through this portal, the SC intends to leverage machine learning to deal with the vast amounts of data received at the time of filing of cases.
5. SUPACE portal is the brainchild of CJI SA Bobde who is also the first Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee.
6. CJI Bobde first spoke of the use of AI to assist the Supreme Court soon after he took oath as the Chief Justice in 2019.
7. Only the Judges of Delhi and Bombay High Courts dealing with criminal cases would use it on an experimental basis.

International

World Health Day:

The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).

World Health Day 2021:

• World Health Day being celebrated on April 07, 2021.
• The theme of this year is Building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.

History:

• World Health Day is celebrated to highlight the importance of physical and mental well being among people.
• World Health Day was originally conceptualized at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and became official in 1950.
• Since 1950, the World Health Day is held annually on April 7.
• The date of April 7 marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.
• Every year, the WHO decides on a new theme for World Health Day to highlight specific issues related to the health and welfare of the people.

World Homoeopathy Day (WHD):

World Homeopathy Day is observed on 10 April every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann.

The day aims to create awareness about homoeopathy and its contribution to the world of medicine.

Highlights:

• The year 2021, commemorates the 266th birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy.
• The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Ministry of AYUSH, organised a two day scientific conference on the occasion of #WorldHomoeopathyDay from April 10 & 11, 2021 in New Delhi.
• The theme of the conference is “Homoeopathy – Roadmap for Integrative Medicine”
• Purpose: To identify and propose strategic actions towards an effective and efficient inclusion of Homoeopathy in integrative care.
• A unique digital initiative of CCRH, the Homoeopathic Clinical Case Repository (HCCR) portal aimed at providing homoeopathic clinicians, researchers, medical students etc. a user platform for entering homoeopathic clinical cases through a predefined standardized template was launched on the occasion.

About CCRH:

• The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) is an apex research organization under Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India.
• CCRH was formally constituted on 30th March, 1978, was set up as an autonomous organization and registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860.
• CCRH undertakes, coordinates, develops, disseminates and promotes scientific research in Homoeopathy.
• The Headquarters of the Council are situated in New Delhi.
• Multi-centric research is conducted through a network of 23 institutes/units all over India.

About Samuel Hahnemann:

• Samuel Hahnemann was born on 10 April 1755 in Paris, France.
• He was a German physician, a great scholar, a linguist, and an acclaimed scientist.
• He was famously known as the Father of Homeopathy, Father of Human Pharmacology, Father of NanoMedicine and the Father of Infinite Dilution concept in Chemistry.
• He invented the term "Homeopathy".
• He discovered the way to heal through the use of homeopathy.
• He died on 2 July 1843.

About Homeopathy:

• Homeopathy is a system of medicine that follows a natural approach to the treatment of the sick. This type of medical system is based on the belief that the body can cure itself.
• Homeopathy uses animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its preparations and labels them in Latin or faux-Latin vocabulary. It is the world's second most widely used system of treatment.

Vladimir Putin:

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed the legislation that may be able to keep him in power until 2036, when he will be 83 years old.

Key highlights:

• Putin is a former KGB officer.
• He is now 68 who will be completing his ongoing six-year tenure as the fourth as President in 2024.
• He has already run the country either as President or as Prime Minister for more than 20 years.
• This is the longest period a leader has been in power since Joseph Stalin, who was Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953) and the premier of the Soviet Union from 1941-1953.
• Some critics have likened Putin’s move to a power grab while others have called them a “constitutional coup”.

What has changed?

• The law signed by Putin limits any future president to two terms in office, but resets his term count.
• It prevents anyone who has held foreign citizenship from running for the Kremlin.
• These will be “zeroed out”, giving him the option of serving two more consecutive terms after the current one ends in 2024.

The legislation was passed in the lower and upper houses of parliament last month.

The example of US President Franklin D Roosevelt given by Putin:

• Putin cited the example of US President Franklin D Roosevelt, who served four terms — starting 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944.
• Roosevelt’s four-term presidency paved the way for the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1951, which limited the Presidential term to two four-year terms.
• Putin said Roosevelt had to serve four terms because of the problems the US was facing at the time (Great Depression, World War II) and that, therefore, putting limits on Presidential terms was sometimes superfluous.

Vietnam National Assembly:

Vietnam’s legislature voted recently to make Pham Minh Chinh the country’s next Prime Minister.

• Pham Minh Chinh is a member of the Communist party with a history as a security official.
• Outgoing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was appointed the new President.
• The votes of the nearly 500 members of the National Assembly rubber-stamped the leadership picks the Communist party made during its national congress in January.

About Vietnam:

• Vietnam officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia.
• Vietnam shares borders China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west; while maintaining maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia through the South China Sea.
• Its capital is Hanoi.
• The currency used here is Vietnamese dong.

Vjosa Osmani:

The parliament of Kosovo has recently elected Vjosa Osmani as the country’s new president.

• Osmani received 71 votes from the lawmakers at the third round of voting in the Assembly of Kosovo.
• While 82 deputies participated in the vote in the 120-member parliament, 11 votes were declared invalid.
• The 38-year-old politician studied law at the University of Pristina in Kosovo and earned a doctorate from Pittsburgh University in the US.

About Kosovo:

• Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe.
• It is bordered by the uncontested territory of Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest, and Montenegro to the west.
• Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.
• It has since then gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 98 member states of the United Nations.
• The Capital of Kosovo is Pristina.
• The currency used here is Euro.

Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou:

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum recently appointed Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou to head his new cabinet as the country’s new prime minister.

• He was previously served as a minister in charge of the finance and mining portfolios.
• He was the chief of staff to former President Mahamadou Issoufou between 2015 and 2021.
• He was sworn as Niger’s first democratic transition of power since independence in 1960.

Niger:

• Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa.
• It got its name after the Niger River. The country has some of the world's largest uranium deposits.
• The capital of Niger is Niamey.
• The currency used here is West African CFA franc.
• The current President of Niger is Mohamed Bazoum

National

Sadabahar:

55 year old farmer Shrikishan Suman from kota, Rajashtan Shrikishan Suman has developed an innovative mango variety which is a regular and round-the-year dwarf variety of mango called Sadabahar.

Main Points:

1. Sadabahar is resistant to most major diseases and common mango disorders.
2. The fruit is sweeter in taste, comparable to langra and being a dwarf variety, is suitable for kitchen gardening, high-density plantation, and can be grown in pots for some years too.
3. The flesh of the fruits, which is bourn round the year, is deep orange with sweet taste, and the pulp has very less fiber content which differentiates it from other varieties.
4. The innovative attributes of the variety have been verified by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), India, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (GoI).
5. NIF has also facilitated the plantation of Sadabahar mango variety in the Mughal Garden at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.

PLI Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights):

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights) with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 6,238 crore.

1. The PLI scheme for White Goods (PLIWG) is another important step towards the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

Objective:

1. The prime objective of the PLI scheme is to make manufacturing in India globally competitive by removing sectoral disabilities, creating economies of scale and ensuring efficiencies.
2. It is designed to create a complete component ecosystem in India and make India an integral part of the global supply chains.
3. The scheme is expected to attract global investments, generate large-scale employment opportunities and enhance exports substantially.

About:

1. The PLI Scheme for White Goods shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a period of 5 years to companies engaged in manufacturing of Air Conditioners and LED Lights.
2. An entity availing benefits under any other PLI Scheme of Government of India (GoI) will not be eligible under this scheme for the same products but the entity may take benefits under other applicable schemes of GoI or schemes of State governments.
3. The Scheme will be implemented as a pan India scheme and is not specific to any location, area or segment of population.
4. A number of global and domestic companies, including a number of MSMEs are likely to benefit from the Scheme.

Benefits:

1. It is estimated that over the period of five years, the PLI Scheme will lead to incremental investment of Rs. 7,920 Crore, incremental Production worth Rs. 1,68,000 Crore, exports worth Rs 64,400 Crore, earn direct and indirect revenues of Rs 49,300 crore and create additional four lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.
2. The Scheme is expected to be instrumental in achieving growth rates that are much higher than existing ones for AC and LED industries, develop complete component eco-systems in India and create global champions manufacturing in India. However, they will have to meet the compulsory BIS and BEE Quality standards for sales into the domestic market and applicable standards for global markets.
3. It will also lead to investments in innovation and research and development and upgradation of technology.

What are White goods?

1. A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation.
2. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were traditionally white in colour, although a variety of colours are now available.

E9 Partnership:

The Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre recently addressed the consultation meeting of Education Ministers of E9 countries on E9 initiative: Scaling up digital learning to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education.

1. The event witnessed the participation of the Education Minister of Bangladesh, Ms Dipu Moni, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations, Ms Amina Mohammed, Education Ministers from the E9 countries and officials from the United Nations, UNICEF and UNESCO attended the meeting.

About E9:

1. The E9 is a forum of nine countries, which was formed to achieve the goals of UNESCO’s Education For All (EFA) initiative.
2. Spearheaded by the United Nations (UN), the E9 Partnership was first established in 1993.
3. E-9 Initiative was launched at the EFA Summit in New Delhi, India.

Note: Here E stands for education and 9 represents the 9 countries.

1. E9 Countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
2. The initiative aims to advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems in three of the 2020 Global Education Meeting priorities:

(i) support to teachers;

(ii) investment in skills; and

(iii) narrowing of the digital divide.

Education For All (EFA) Initiative:

1. It is a global movement led by UNESCO.
2. It aims to meet the learning needs of youth, children and adults.
3. The Education for All initiative was adopted by the Darkar Framework in April 2000.

India and Japan:

The Union Cabinet of India, Chaired by Prime Minister Modi, recently formally apprised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between India and Japan.

1. The MoU was signed between National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Department of Space, Government of India (GoI) and Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan for Academic and Research Cooperation and Exchange in November, 2020.

Objectives of the MoU:

1. The MoU shall enable NARL and RISH to continue their cooperation in areas of atmospheric science and technology.
2. Both will exchange scientific materials, information, publications, students, faculty members and researchers.
3. This MoU would lead to mutual utilization of facilities such as the Middle and Upper atmosphere (MU) radar in Shigaraki, Japan, the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in Kototabang, Indonesia etc.

Background:

1. Both NARL and RISH have been collaborating in the area of atmospheric science and technology as well as exchange of scientists.
2. This arrangement was formalized in 2008 through an MoU which was renewed in the year 2013.
3. In November 2020, Both NARL and RISH signed a fresh MoU to promote collaborative research under new guidelines.

India-Japan relations:

1. India and Japan hold 2+2 dialogue every year. Japan is the second country after the USA with which India has such a dialogue format.
2. The major Indian exports to Japan are chemicals, petroleum products, etc.
3. The major Japanese exports to India are transport, electronic goods, machinery, iron and steel,
4. Japanese FDI in India are mainly in electrical equipment, automobile, telecommunication, pharmaceutical sector.
5. Japan has invested $90 billion in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor.
6. This will set up industrial parks, new cities, ports and airports.
7. Japan supplies nuclear reactors and nuclear technology to India.
8. India is the only non-signatory of Non-Proliferation Treaty to receive the exemption from Japan.

India & Seychelles:

India-Seychelles High Level Virtual Event was recently held on April 8, 2021.

Highlights:

1. It was the first interaction of Prime Minister Narendra  Modi with the Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan.

Note: Ramkalawan came to power after a victory in the October 2020 Presidential Election. Ramkalawan is a Person of Indian origin (PIO) with his roots in Gopalganj, Bihar.

1. During the event, PM Modi and Seychelles President jointly inaugurated several developmental assistance Indian projects in Seychelles.
2. The projects are in line with India's vision of ‘SAGAR’ - ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’.

Projects Inaugurated:

Both the leaders jointly inaugurated the following projects in Seychelles.

Magistrates’ Court Building:

1. The Magistrates' Court Building project is a landmark project and will help bring magistrate courts spread over different locations in Mahe into a single building.
2. It is situated next to the Supreme Court of Seychelles built by Chinese assistance in 2013.
3.  

New Naval Ship 'PS Zoroaster’:

1. The vessel that was inaugurated is a 48.9-meter Fast-Patrol Vessel (FVP) Christened as 'PS Zoroaster.
2. It has been built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineering Ltd. (GRSE), at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
3. The ship will be used for multi-purpose operations, such as patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and search and rescue (SAR).
4. The FPV is the fourth ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles.
5. The other vessels gifted by India include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014), Patrol Boat Hermes (2016).

MW Solar Power Plant:

1. India handed over a One Mega Watt solar power plant in the Seychelles built with India’s assistance in Rimainville Island of Seychelles.

10 HICDPs (High Impact Community Development Projects):

1. The virtual event also saw the handing over of 10 HICDPs implemented by the High Commission of India in collaboration with local bodies, educational and vocational institutions.
2. These HICDP projects are aimed at implementing small people-oriented projects which contribute significantly towards the socio-economic development and improvement of local communities.

Additional Info:

1. Seychelles was the First African country to receive the Made in India COVID-19 vaccines.
2. During times of need, India was able to supply essential medicines and 50,000 doses of Made in India vaccines to Seychelles.

Seychelles:

• Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, at the eastern edge of the Somali Sea.
• It's Capital is Victoria which is situated on the island of Mahe.
• The currency used here is Seychellois Rupee.
• The current President is Wavel Ramkalawan.

India-Netherlands Virtual Summit:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte recently held a Virtual Summit.

Highlights:

1. It was the first high level Summit attended by PM Rutte after the general elections held in March 2021.
2. Prime Minister Modi congratulated PM Rutte on his election victory and on becoming the Prime Minister of the Netherlands for the fourth consecutive term.
3. During the Summit, the two leaders exchanged views on further expanding the relationship in the following areas:

1. Trade and economy
2. Water management
3. Agriculture sector
4. Smart cities
5. Science & technology
6. Healthcare
7. Space

1. Both the Prime Ministers also agreed on instituting a ‘Strategic Partnership on Water’ to further deepen the Indo-Dutch cooperation in the water related sector, and upgrading the Joint Working Group on water to Ministerial-level.
2. Prime Minister Modi thanked the Netherlands for their support to International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
3. PM Modi also welcomed the Netherlands’ Indo-Pacific Policy.

People In News

Dr Chintan Vaishnav:

Noted socio-technologist Dr Chintan Vaishnav has recentlly been appointed as the mission director of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), the government’s flagship initiative under NITI Aayog.

Highlights:

• Vaishnav will take over from Ramanathan Ramanan later this month.
• Ramanan has been leading AIM as its first mission director since June 2017.

About Vaishnav:

• Vaishnav is currently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US.
• He holds a PhD in technology, management, and policy from MIT.
• He is an engineer trained to understand and build large-scale systems, with both human as well as technological complexities.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM):

• AIM is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog.
• AIM’s mission is to create and promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.
• So far, AIM has established 72, 59 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across 650 districts, providing over 3.5 million students access to emerging technologies.

Tarun Bajaj:

The Central Government has recently approved the appointment of Tarun Bajaj as the new Revenue Secretary under the Ministry of Finance.

• Prior to this, Bajaj, a 1988 batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, was serving as the Economic Affairs Secretary since April 30, 2020.
• The cabinet has also approved the appointment of Ajay Seth, a 1987 batch Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, as new Economic Affairs Secretary in place of Bajaj.

Places In News

World’s highest railway bridge in J&K:

The construction of the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge that soars 359 metres above the bed of the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir has recently been completed.

Highlights:

1. The 1.3-kilometre-long bridge aims to boost connectivity to the Kashmir Valley.
2. It is being constructed at a cost of ₹ 1,486 crores as part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project.

Salient Features of the Arch of the iconic Chenab Bridge:

1. The construction of the Chenab Bridge was declared as a national project in 2002.
2. Indian Railways is constructing the iconic Arch Bridge on River Chenab as a part of the USBRL project to connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation.
3. This bridge is 1315m long.
4. This is the highest Railway Bridge in the world being 359m above the river bed level.
5. It will be 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris (France).
6. The overall weight of Arch is 10,619 MT.
7. The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software is used for structural detailing.
8. Structural steel was suitable for -10°C to 40°C temperature.
9. Bridge is designed to bear earthquake forces of highest intensity zone-V in India.
10. It is also designed to withstand high wind speed up to 266 Km/Hour.
11. Bridge is designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO for the first time in India.
12. Bridge will remain operational at restricted speed of 30 Km/Hour even after removal of one pier/trestle.

Jammu and Kashmir:

1. Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is a region administered by India as a Union Territory.
2. It was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1954 to 2019.
3. Provisions for the formation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir were contained within the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, which was passed by both houses of the Parliament of India in August 2019.
4. The region of Jammu and Kashmir is separated by the Line of Control from the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in the west and north respectively.
5. It lies to the north of the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and to the west of Ladakh, which is also subject to the dispute as a part of Kashmir, and administered by India as a union territory.
6. The current Lieutenant Governor of J&K is former Union minister and BJP leader Manoj Sinha.

Lab on Wheels' Programme:

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia recently inaugurated Delhi Technological University's 'Lab on Wheels' programme.

Highlights:

It is part of Delhi Technological University’s (DTU) Education Reaches You scheme.

It will have students of the university travelling in a bus across Delhi to teach government school students and underprivileged children.

The lab will impart science education to students in Delhi government schools and under privileged children.

The idea is to impart education in the fields of Mathematics and Science to those students who come from marginalised and poor economic backgrounds, in order to pique their interests in these subjects while pursuing higher education.

Lab on Wheels:

'Lab on Wheels' is a revolutionary programme launched by Delhi Technological University (DTU).

The ‘Lab on Wheels’ will comprise 16 computers, two televisions, one 3D printer, one laptop, cameras and one printer.

It will be Wi-Fi enabled, with 100 per cent power back up and fully air-conditioned.

volunteers of DTU, who, under the 'Extension and Field Outreach Programme', will help 44 lakh Delhi government school students to find their own path, to think, and realise their dreams

Science and Technology

National Super Computing Mission (NSM):

India is fast emerging a leader in high power computing with the National Super Computing Mission (NSM).

About NSM:

• The NSM was launched to enhance the research capacities and capabilities in the country by connecting them to form a Supercomputing grid, with National Knowledge Network (NKN) as the backbone.
• The Mission is being jointly steered by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• It is implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

Phases:

• This will include three systems of 3 Petaflops (PF) each and one system of 20PF as a national facility.
• Computing infrastructure has already been installed in four premier institutions and installation work is in rapid progress in 9 more.
• Completion in of Phase II of NSM in September 2021 will take the country’s computing power to 16 Petaflops (PF).
• Phase III, initiated this year, will take the computing speed to around 45 Petaflops.
• The three phases will provide access to High-Performance Computing (HPC) Facilities to around 75 institutions and more than thousands of active researchers, academicians working through Nation Knowledge Network (NKN) - the backbone for supercomputing systems.

List of supercomputers:

PARAM Shivay, the first supercomputer assembled indigenously, was installed in IIT (BHU), followed by PARAM Shakti, PARAM Brahma, PARAM Yukti, PARAM Sanganak at IIT-Kharagpur IISER, Pune, JNCASR, Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur respectively.

PARAM Siddhi - AI, the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer, has achieved global ranking of 62 in TOP 500 most powerful supercomputer systems in the world, released on 16th November 2020.

Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS):

INYAS recently launched a multipronged nationwide mass awareness campaign to bust myths about Covid 19 vaccination programme.

The campaign will be carried out through COVACNEWS android-based mobile app.

About INYAS:

• Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) in the first and only recognized young scientist academy of India.
• It was founded by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) council in 2014.
• Its vision is to promote Science education and networking among young scientists at National as well as International level.

Xenobots:

Xenobots is the name given to new living robots that have been created using the stem cells of frogs by the scientists.

• The new creatures were designed on a supercomputer at UVM — and then assembled and tested by biologists at Tufts University

How were the Xenobots created?

1. The scientists created Xenobots by micro engineering amphibian eggs with RNA.
2. The biologists later removed the egg membrane after 24 hours.
3. They then harvested the stem cell tissue from the embryo.
4. The tissues then formed into spheres with tiny hair like structure called cilia.
5. The cilia moved to propel the bots across a surface creating a Xenobot.

About Xenobots:

1. Xenobots are made from frog cells.
2. They have been named after the Xenopus laevis frog that supplied its cells to create the robot. Xenopus laevis is an African frog.
3. These robots are to be used to detect diseases and deliver drugs to specific areas of the body.
4. Xenobots are capable of healing themselves.
5. They can record memories.
6. Xenobots are less than 1 milli metre long.
7. They are comprised of 500-1000 living cells.
8. Xenobots come in different basic shapes and can scoot themselves in linear or circular directions.
9. They are capable of joining up together to act collectively.
10. They can move small objects by harnessing their cellular energy for a maximum of ten days.

How was the memory of the Xenobots created?

1. The memory retaining capability of the Xenobots was propelled by a protein called EosFP.
2. EosFP normally glows green. However, it emits red colour when exposed to a light of 390 nm wavelength.
3. The cells of frog embryos with messenger RNA coding enabled the Xenobots to record when exposed to blue light (at around 390 nm of wavelength).
4. The scientists tested the above function on ten Xenobots that were swimming around a surface where one spot was illuminated by the light of 390 nm of wavelength.
5. After two hours, three of the bots emitted red light and the rest remained green. This provides a memory of their travel experience.

NASA's MARS ODYSSEY:

NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft marks 20 historic years of mapping red planet - Mars.

Highlights:

1. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft was launched 20 years ago on April 7.
2. It has made it the oldest spacecraft still working at the Red Planet.
3. The orbiter, which takes its name from Arthur C. Clarke's classic sci-fi novel "2001: A Space Odyssey", was sent to map the composition of the Martian surface in 2001 providing a window to the past so scientists could piece together how the planet evolved..
4. Project Scientist Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California said that before Odyssey, we didn't know where water was stored on the planet.
5. The feasibility of humans traveling to Mars was also the focus of an instrument aboard Odyssey that measured how much space radiation astronauts would have to contend with before it stopped working in 2003.
6. The most complete global maps of Mars were made using Odyssey's infrared camera, called the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS.

Sports

Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing discipline:

Union Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs recently inaugurated Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) for Rowing discipline at the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council Water Sports Academy in Srinagar.

Highlights:

• This is one of the two KISCEs from Jammu & Kashmir itself, with the Maulana Azad Stadium for Fencing discipline in Jammu being the other.

KISCEs in India:

• Currently, there are 24 KISCEs across 23 States and Union Territories (Uts) and each of them focuses on Olympics sports discipline.

Aim:

• This is an ongoing endeavor to scale-up existing centres from the States and Uts to the world standard level keeping in mind the big picture of getting India excelled at the Olympics.

Miami Open:

Hubert Hurkacz of Poland won the biggest title of his career by beating 19-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the Miami Open final.

• Hurkacz became his country’s first Masters 1000 champion.
• The world number 37 is the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters event since Tomas Berdych in Paris in 2005.

Men’s World Boxing Championships:

President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Umar Kremlev during his visit to Uzbekistan officially announced that AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships will take place in Tashkent in 2023.

• The city of Tashkent is awarded the 2023 AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships after the successful bid presentation by the Boxing Federation of Uzbekistan.
• The AIBA Board of Directors voted in favour of the major event candidate city.

About International Boxing Association (AIBA):

• The International Boxing Association or AIBA, originally the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, is a sport organization that sanctions amateur boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.
• AIBA was founded in 1946.
• It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• The current President of AIBA is Umar Kremlyov.

Sir Richard Hadlee Medal:

New Zealand star cricketer Kane Williamson was recently awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee medal.

• It was his 4th Sir Richard Hadlee award in 6 years. He had a great test season.
• He scored 251 against West Indies followed by a century on the boxing day.
• Williamson’s staggering performance against Pakistan helped New Zealand book a place in the ICC World Test Championship final.
• He captained the team to 17 wins out of 20 resulting in victory in all 7 series.

Other awards winners are as follows:

• On the other hand, the Women’s team all-rounder Amelia Kerr was also honoured along with the upcoming star Devon Conway at the New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, Devon Conway was awarded the Men’s Player of the year award in both ODIs and T20s.
• Whereas the 21-year old Fin Allen was honoured with the Super Smash player of the year award for his staggering strike rate of 193.

Arts

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently paid homage to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on his 183rd birth anniversary.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee or Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay,(27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist.

About:

• He is considered among the pioneers of the shift in Indian, especially Bangla, literary tradition away from the verse and towards prose.
• He was the composer of Vande Mataram which has been India's national song since 1937 and sung by generations of Indians to evoke the motherland.
• Vande Mataram originally in Sanskrit, personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring activists during the Indian Independence Movement.
• He was born in Naihati, Bengal on 27 June 1838.
• He went on to become a significant figure in India's struggle for independence.
• Bankim has left an indelible mark on modern nationalism and modern Hinduism.
• His belief was that there was "no serious hope of progress in India except in Hinduism-reformed, regenerated and purified".
• He got his education at the Hoogly College and Presidency College.
• He went on to become one of the earliest graduates of the University of Calcutta.
• He served in the Indian Civil Service and retired as a Deputy Magistrate in 1891.It was this work under the Raj that made him deeply critical of India's colonial masters.

Literary career:

• Chattopadhyay wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali. He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali.

• The most noteworthy contribution Bankim made to the nationalistic imagination was the political novel Anandamath.

• The book is set against the backdrop of what is known as the 'sanyahi bidhroho' (rebellion of monks in late 18th century).
• The book is considered a call for the rise of Hindu nationalism, and portrayed sanyasis (ascetics) fighting Muslims soldiers of the British army.
• It was in Anandamath, that Bankim wrote the poem 'Vande Mataram'.

Vande Mataram was announced as the National Song by Rajendra Prasad on January 24, 1950, in recognition of its role in the Independence Movement, against the backdrop of demands that it be made the national anthem of newly independent India.

It was accorded equal status to the National Anthem.

Note: The song remains a popular evocation to national pride and has been interpreted and performed by artistes all throughout.

• He published his first fiction work, Rajmohan's Wife in English and it is regarded as the first Indian novel to be written in English. The story was an economic exploration of the Bengal family and domesticity.
• His first work in Bangla was Durgeshnandini in 1865, which is considered the first Bangla novel.
• He also wrote other famous novels like like Kapalkundala in 1866 which is considered to be one of the finest works of Indian literature, Mrinalini in 1869,,Vishbriksha in 1873, Chandrashekhar in1877, Rajani in 1877, Rajsimha in 1881,and Devi Chaudhurani in 1884.
• He started publishing a monthly literary magazine Bangadarshan in April 1872. The magazine played an important role in establishing a Bengali identity and nationalism.
• His last work was Sitaram, published in 1886.

Fun Fact: Once Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, playing on the meaning of Bankim (Bent A Little), asked him what it was that had bent him. Bankim Chandra jokingly replied that it was the kick from the Englishman's shoe for he was a well-known critic of the British government.

Books and Authors:

Fiercely Female: The Dutee Chand Story: Journalist Sundeep Mishra’s book titled ‘Fiercely Female: The Dutee Chand Story’ the book was released on 22 June on ‘SoftCover’ —ThePrint’s e-venue to launch select non-fiction books.

• This book chronicles Chand’s journey with a detailed narrative of the gender-identity controversy that made her an iconic figure in Indian sport.
• The book was published by Westland Books.

About the Dutee Chand:

• Dutee Chand, the first openly homosexual athlete from India, scripted history in 2019 when she became the first Indian to win gold in a 100-metre event at the World Universiade in Naples.
• Coming from a small village in Odisha, Dutee Chand went on to hold the national record in the women’s 100 metres.
• She is only the fifth Indian to participate in the women’s 100 metres at the Olympics when she qualified for the 2016 Rio Games.

Economics

Definition of SMCs: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) recently expanded the definition of small and medium businesses (SMCs) by raising the turnover and borrowing limits.

Highlights:

• As per the new definition, SMC is an unlisted company, a bank, an insurance or a financial institution with sales up to Rs 250 crore and borrowings up to Rs 50 crore.
• The earlier threshold for sales was Rs50 crore and that for borrowings was Rs10 crore.
• Now, SMCs are permitted to avail number of exemptions under Company (Accounting Standards) Rules 2021. It will reduce complexity of regulatory filings for smaller firms.
• The Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021, will be effective 1 April, 2021.
• The accounting standards for SMC, which were earlier notified in December 2006 and amended from time to time, are much simpler as compared to Indian Accounting Standards.

Companies classified as SMCs:

• Banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, and listed companies cannot be classified as SMCs.
• SMC which is a holding company or subsidiary company of a non-SMC will not qualify as a SMC.

Exemptions available to SMCs:

• They have been completely exempted from filing cash flow statements and providing segmental break up of their financial performance.
• They can avail partial reporting exemptions in areas like reporting on employee benefits obligations. For instance, on pensions.
• They are not only exempted from providing detailed analysis of benefit obligations to employees but they are also exempted from reporting diluted earnings per share in their filings.

Significance:

• This move will promote ease of doing business for firms which are included under definition of SMC.

About Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):

• SMEs are businesses whose personnel numbers are kept below certain limits.
• SMEs sometimes outnumber big companies by wide margin and employ more people. For instance, Australian SMEs accounts for 98% of all Australian businesses produce one-third of GDP and employ 4.7 million people.
• SMEs are also responsible for driving innovation and competition across different sectors.

Independent Directors: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently overhauled the norms pertaining to the appointment, removal, and remuneration of independent directors in order to curtail the sway of promoters over them.

The SEBI Board made a number of changes based on a discussion paper issued in March 2021.

• Key Details:
• As per the new rules, the appointment, removal of independent directors shall be through a special resolution approved by shareholders.
• It will require 75% votes in support instead of 51%, as in the case of an ordinary resolution.
• The nomination and remuneration committee (NRC), which selects candidates for appointment as independent directors, will be required to have two-thirds IDs, as against the existing requirement of a majority.
• The NRC will have to disclose and justify the skill-sets while selecting a candidate.
• Key managerial personnel and their relatives or employees of the promoter group will have to observe a three-year cooling-off period before they get appointed as an independent director.
• SEBI has also tightened rules related to the resignation of independent directors.
• The regulator has said the new framework will come into play from January 1, 2022.
• SEBI will also initiate discussions with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for giving greater flexibility to companies while deciding the remuneration for directors, including IDs.

Other decisions by SEBI:

• Minimum investment ticket size for REITs and InvITs lowered sharply
• Fund houses asked to invest more in their NFOs depending on risk level
• Banks other than scheduled banks also allowed to act as investment bankers
• Reward for informants raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore to curb insider trading
• Concept of accredited investors; new regulation to deepen the debt market
• Rules for Indian fund managers to act as FPIs streamlined

Who are accredited investors?

• Accredited investors can be individuals, HUFs, family trusts, partnership firms, sole proprietorships, trusts and body corporate on the basis of financial parameters.

About SEBI:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India (GoI).
• It was established on 12 April 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes the basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
• The main function of SEBI is to safeguard the rights and interests of the investor, reduce malpractices related to the stock exchange, establishing a code of conduct and promoting the healthy functioning of the stock exchange.

Note: Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority before SEBI came into existence; it derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947.

• It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The current Chairman of SEBI is Ajay Tyagi.

SBI Foundation Day: State Bank of India (SBI) which is the oldest commercial bank in the country is celebrated its 66th year on 1st July 2021.

About SBI:

• SBI is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body.
• It is a government corporation statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• It was founded on 1 July 1955.
• The Bank of Madras merged into the other two presidency banks, the bank of Calcutta and the bank of Bombay to form the Imperial Bank of India which in turn became the State Bank of India on this day in 1955.
• SBI is ranked as 221st in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations of 2020.
• The current Chairman of SBI is Dinesh Kumar Khara.

Shopsy: Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace recently launched its new app called ‘Shopsy’ for online business.

With Shopsy, Flipkart aims to enable over 25 million online entrepreneurs by 2023 as they reap the benefits of digital commerce.

Key details about Shopsy:

• Shopsy will enable Indians to start their online businesses without any investment.
• This app will also help in deepening e-commerce penetration, particularly in non-metros.
• Users can register on the Shopsy app using their phone numbers and begin their online entrepreneurial journey.
• Once registered, the users of Shopsy will be able to share catalogues of a wide selection of 15 crore products offered by Flipkart sellers.
• These users can share catalogues with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps, place orders on their behalf and earn commissions on the transactions.
• Commission percentage will vary based on the category of products being ordered.
• Products range across fashion, beauty, mobiles, electronics and home, with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps.

Objective:

• Shopsy’s objective is to power e-commerce for communities and third-party channels where these users spend time/trust.
• It also aims to provide digital commerce consumers access to products by simplifying process by interacting with trusted person.

About Flipkart:

• Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company with its headquarters in Bangalore, India and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company.
• It was founded in October 2007.
• This company initially started online book sales and then expanded into other product categories like consumer electronics, home essentials, fashion, groceries and lifestyle products.
• The service competes primarily with Amazon's Indian subsidiary and domestic rival Snapdeal
• Flipkart has a dominant position in apparel segment, supported by its acquisition of Myntra.
• It also owns PhonePe which is a mobile payments service based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• The current CE of Flipcart is Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

New TDS Rules: A new Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) rule has come into effect from July 1, 2021.

The Finance Act 2021 amended rules relating to tax deducted at source. The particular provision to tax non-filers of income tax returns for two years at higher rates was introduced in Budget 2021.

Key details:

• Under the new rules, non-filer of income tax for past two financial years will be subjected to higher taxation.
• Such non-filers will have to bear higher tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) if such tax deduction amounted to Rs 50,000 or more in each of the past two years.
• Provisions of this section will be applicable to TDS deductions on resident payments including shareholder dividends and service payment to vendors rent.
• However, it will not be applicable on salary, horse race, trust income, winnings from lottery or crossword, and cash withdrawals.
• A higher rate of TDS is also not applicable in the case of a non-resident Indian (NRI) who does not have any permanent establishment in India.

Who will enforce these rules?

• To enforce the rule, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced a utility tool, known as the Compliance Check for Section 206AB & 206CCA.
• The toll will ease the compliance burden of tax deductions who will be able to use this functionality to identify non-filers.
• This functionality is already functioning on reporting portal of income tax department.

What are the benefits of this utility tool?

• The benefits of using this tool is that the Tax deductor would be able to conduct a single PAN (permanent account number) search or bulk search with the help of Compliance check tool.
• For a single search, deductor can get income tax return filing information about specific person on portal.
• This information can be downloaded in PDF format.
• Tax deductor can also get bulk search involving multiple PANs.
• To enable this service, tax deductors & collectors would be required to check functionality of PAN of vendor from whom TDS is to be deducted.

About CBTD:

• It is an acronym of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. CBDT is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
• The officials of the Board in their ex-officio capacity also function as a Division of the Ministry dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes. It functions as a division of the Ministry of Finance under the Department of Revenue.
• Its functions include formulation of policies, dealing with natters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes, and supervision of the functioning of the entire Income Tax Department.
• The CBDT is headed by a chairman and can have six members. All of these officers are in the rank of special secretary.

Defence

Border Infrastructure Poject: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh dedicated to the nation 63 bridges in a virtual program from Kyungam in Leh district.

Highlights:

Shri Rajnath Singh is an a three-day visit to Ladakh to review the security situation on the ground as India and China prepare for the 12th round of Corps Commander talks to take forward the disengagement process in Eastern Ladakh.

These bridges are built by Boarder Roads Organization (BRO).

The combined cost of the projects is Rs 240 crores.

Key Details:

Mr. Singh inaugurated a 50-metre-long bridge constructed on the Leh-Loma Road in Ladakh.

• This single span steel super structure bridge replaces an existing bailey bridge.
• The Leh-Loma Road, which connects Leh with places such as Chumathang, Hanley and Tso Morori Lake, is vital for access to forward areas in Eastern Ladakh.
• This will ensure unhindered movement of heavy weapon systems including guns, tanks and other specialized equipment.

Amongst the rest 62 bridges, he virtually inaugurated -

• 11 in Ladakh,
• 4 in Jammu & Kashmir,
• 3 in Himachal Pradesh,
• 6 in Uttarakhand,
• 8 in Sikkim,
• 29 in Arunachal Pradesh and
• 1 each in Nagaland and Manipur.

BRO’S Infrastructure Poject:

• With the inauguration of 63 bridges in one go, BRO has surpassed its own record of 44 bridges launched in 2020.
• These 63 bridges, combined with 12 roads dedicated to the nation by Rajnath Singh on June 17, 2021, form a bouquet of 75 infrastructure projects completed by the BRO.

About the Bridges:

• BRO used the latest technologies in building of these bridges.
• These are Class-70 bridges and can bear the load of movement of Tanks and other heavy vehicles.
• These bridges facilitate strategic and quicker access not just to Armed forces but to people living in the border villages as well.

About BRO:

• It refers to the Border Roads Organization.
• In order to ensure coordination and expeditious execution of projects, the Government of India (GoI) set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the Prime Minister as Chairman of the Board and Defence Minister as Deputy Chairman. The BRO was formed on 7 May 1960 to secure India's borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and north-east states of the country.
• It develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
• It is responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads along the borders with China and Pakistan.
• Officers from the Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.
• BRO has been entirely brought under the Ministry of Defence. Earlier it received funds from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• The current Director General of BRO is Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary.

Additional Info:

• Shri Rajnath Singh, on the development of Ladakh, said a number of welfare schemes are being implemented, including Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.
• He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to start the democratic process in the region.

INS Tabar: INS Tabar was recently deployed to participate in joint exercises with friendly navies in Europe and Africa.

Highlights:

It will visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till the September end, 2021.

It will also participate in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies.

Key Details:

 

• The ship will transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway.
• During port visits, the ship is scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises like Ex Konkan with UK Royal Navy, Ex Varuna with French Navy and Ex Indra with Russian Federation Navy, to strengthen military relations, develop interoperability and project long-range sustenance.
• The deployment will also see participation by the ship in the Russian Navy Day celebrations from July 22 to 27.

Aim:

• These engagements are aimed at further strengthening maritime security in the region and consolidating combined operations against maritime threats.

About INS Tabar:

• The Indian Navy's Talwar-class stealth frigate, INS Tabar, was built in Russia for the Indian Navy.
• The ship, which is one of the Indian Navy's first stealth frigates, is outfitted with a diverse array of weapons and sensors.
• The ship is part of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy, which is stationed in Mumbai and is part of the Western Naval Command.

Indrajaal: Hyderabad-based technology R&D firm Grene Robotics has designed and developed India’s first indigenous drone defence dome called “Indrajaal”.

Key details about Indrajaal:

• The drone defence dome has the capability to autonomously protect an area of 1000-2000 sq km against the aerial threats by assessing and acting on aerial threats such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), loitering munitions, and Low- Radar Cross Section (RCS) targets.
• The ANTI-UAV systems will not only provide protection to defence bases but it will be beneficial for linear infrastructures like international borders against advanced weaponry.
• The design principles of Indrajaal are based on delivering autonomy to the armed forces.
• The synergic combination of 9-10 modern technologies helmed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and robotics.
• Capable of real-time situational awareness, Indrajaal comprises all current weapons suite and infrastructure along with a honeycombed cell structure to provide a seamlessly built over a combination of 9-10 technologies for 24×7 persistent monitoring, tracking and action.

Salient Features:

1. Real-time situational awareness
2. Integrated and Intelligent meshed network
3. Integrated all current weapons suite and infrastructure
4. Honeycombed cell structure for seamlessly built
5. Synergic combination of 9-10 technologies
6. 24×7 persistent and autonomous monitoring, action and tracking

Why is modern warfare of the utmost importance?

• India must embark on responsive and autonomous systems to be prepared for modern warfare rather than adopting reactive measures.
• Manual weapons and point based defense systems cannot fight modern warfare which are operated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics.
• For the first time in India and many times, globally rogue forces have adopted cutting-edge technologies such as UAVs, Smart Swarms, etc.
• Jammu Air Base on June 27th was attacked by such technologies to drop explosives next to the Mi-17 hangar.

IAF: Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM recently took over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 01 Jul 21 while Lt. Gen. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma assumed office as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy).

He succeeds Air Marshal H.S. Arora, who retired on 30 June 2021 after over 39 years of service.

About Air Marshal Chaudhari:

• Air Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Air Force on December 29, 1982, and has a flying experience of more than 3800 hrs on a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft and trainer aircraft, including missions flown during Op-Meghdoot and Op-Safed Sagar.
• He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
• Prior to the present appointment, he was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Western Air Command.

Key details:

• Air Marshal Ballabha Radha Krishna, who was the Director General (DG) Air Operations, took over as the new AOC-in-C of the Western Air Command.
• Air Marshal P.M. Sinha assumed office as DG Air Operations.
• Air Marshal RJ Duckworth would be taking charge of the Central Air Command in Prayagraj.
• On the occasion, the Air Marshals were presented the ceremonial Guard of Honour at Air Headquarters. 
• They also took part in the wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial.

About IAF:

• IAF is an acronym for the Indian Air Force of India.
• It is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces.
• It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal.
• With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
• The present Commander-in-Chief of IAF is Ram Nath Kovind. The Chief of Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command of the Air Force.
• The present Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC and the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) is Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS): The 7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a biennial event, was recently hosted by the French Navy at Réunion Island.

Highlights:

• This biennial event which was conceived by the Indian Navy in 2008 was hosted from 28 June to 01 July 2021.
• From the Indian side, Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy, participated virtually in the inaugural session of the event.
• He provided his congratulatory remarks to the Outgoing and Incoming Chairmen.

Key Details of the Symposium:

During the Symposium, Subject Matter Expert (SME) presentations were made by French Institute of International Relations - Observatoire du Climat, European Union, Indian Ocean Commission, IFC Singapore, RMIFC Madagascar and EU led Critical Maritime Routes Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO).

The Symposium also held panel discussions themed on the three IONS working Groups - HADR, Maritime Security and Information Sharing & Interoperability.

The Naval Maritime Foundation (NMF) also participated in the Panel Discussion on HADR.

CoC 2021:

• IONS Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) is the decision-making body at the level of Chiefs of Navies, which meets biennially.
• The 6th IONS abd CoC was conducted by the Iran Navy in april 2018 at Tehran, Iran.
• Due to the Pandemic, the CoC 2021 will be hosted by the French Navy later this year.

About IONS:

• Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) was initiated by the Indian Navy in 2008.
• The symposium was first held in 2008 with India as host.
• The IONS is a voluntary and inclusive initiative that brings together navies of Indian Ocean Region littoral states of the Indian Ocean region.
• It provides a forum to increase maritime security cooperation, discuss regional maritime issues, and promote friendly relationships among the member states.
• It also serves to develop an effective response mechanism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) against natural disasters.
• In addition to the symposiums, numerous other activities like workshops, essay competitions and lectures are also held under the umbrella of the organization.

IONS chairmanship:

• The chairmanship and location of the Symposium rotates between the various member states.
• The chairmanship of IONS has been held by India (2008-10), UAE (2010-12), South Africa (2012-14), Australia (2014-16), Bangladesh (2016-18) and Islamic Republic of Iran (2018-21).
• France assumed the Chairmanship in June 2021 for two-year tenure.

IONS Members:

IONS include 24 member nations that touch or lie within the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and 8 observer nations.

The members have been geographically grouped into the following four sub-regions:

1. South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory)
2. West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
3. East African Littorals: France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.
4. South East Asian and Australian Littorals: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

Observers:

The Observers nations are China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain.

Significance for India:

• IONS fit into India’s three-fold ambitions in the region:

1. Strengthening and deepening the relations with the Indian Ocean littoral states;
2. Establishing its leadership potential and aspirations of being a net-security provider;
3. Fulfilling India’s vision of a rules-based and stable maritime order in the IOR.

• It will help India to consolidate its sphere of influence from the Straits of Malacca to Hormuz.
• IONS can be used to counter-balance the increasing presence of China in the region.

Agni P: The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully flight-tested a New Generation Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha.

About Agni-P:

• Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.
• Agni P is a canisters based missile.

• Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile while improving its storage and mobility,
• This means that it can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period. It can also be transported across the length and breadth of the country.

• The missile weighs 50% less than Agni III and has new guidance and a new generation of propulsion.
• The missile has a range between 1000km to 2000km.
• It has been developed specifically to strike targets in Pakistan.
• Its range is too short to reach targets in the Chinese mainland.
• The Agni-P will replace the Prithvi, Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles that were built two decades ago with technologies that are now considered outdated.

About Agni Missiles:

• Agni Missiles trace their origins back to the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMDP).
• IGMDP was conceived by APJ. Abdul Kalam in 1980s to enable India attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
• The missiles developed under this programme include –

(a) Agni

(b) Akash,

(c) Trishul

(d) Prithvi

(e) Nag.

About DRDO:

• It is an acronym for the Defence Research and Development Organisation. DRDO is India's largest research organisation.
• It was founded in 1958.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
• It is an agency under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India (GoI).
• It is charged with the military's research and development.
• It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.
• The Minister currently responsible for DRDO is Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence.
• The present Chairman of DRDO is Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy.

Environment

Sea Snot' outbreak in Turkey: Turkey’s Sea of Marmara, which connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, recently witnessed the largest outbreak of ‘sea snot’.

Highlights:

• The sludge has also been spotted in the adjoining Black and Aegean seas.
• A ‘sea snot’ outbreak was first recorded in the country in 2007.
• Back then, it was also spotted in the Aegean Sea near Greece.
• The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that considerable steps will be taken to solve the problem and protect the country’s seas.

Steps taken by Turkey to contain its spread:

• Turkey has decided to declare the entire Sea of Marmara as a protected area.
• Steps are being taken to reduce pollution and improve treatment of waste water from coastal cities and ships.
• A disaster management plan is being prepared.

What is sea snot?

• ‘Sea snot’ is marine mucilage, which floats up on the surface of the sea like a brown phlegm.
• This thick slimy layer of organic matter looks like a viscous, brown and foamy substance.
• It can cause considerable damage to the marine ecosystem.
• It is formed when algae are overloaded with nutrients.
• Overloading of nutrients happens because of warm weather caused by global warming, water pollution, uncontrolled dumping of household and industrial waste into the seas etc.

Impacts and concerns of Sea Snort:

It has spread through the sea south of Istanbul and also blanketed harbours and shorelines. The impacts and concerns of sea snot are as follows:

Livelihoods of Fishermen Affected:

• The ‘sea snot’ outbreak has affected the livelihoods of fishermen.
• The collection of sludge in their nets is making them so heavy that they break or get lost.
• Moreover, the mucilage coating the strings makes the nets visible to fish and keeps them away.

Water-borne Diseases:

• It can also cause an outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera in cities like Istanbul.

Threat to the Marine Ecosystem:

• The most important factor is that it is posing a severe threat to the marine ecosystem of the country.
• It has caused mass deaths among the fish population, and also killed other aquatic organisms such as corals and sponges.
• If unchecked, this can collapse to the bottom and cover the sea floor, causing major damage to the marine ecosystem.
• Over a period of time, it could end up poisoning all aquatic life, including fishes, crabs, oysters, mussels and sea stars.

International Day of the Tropics: The International Day of the Tropics is observed every year on 29 June to celebrate extraordinary diversity of tropics.

The Day also highlighting unique challenges the Tropical nations face.

Aim:

• It aims to raise awareness about specific challenges faced by tropical regions across the world, far-reaching implications of issues affecting world’s tropical zone and to underline important role that topical countries will play in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Theme of International Day of the Tropics 2021:

• As per the State of the Tropics Report 2021, the theme this year is ‘The Digital Divide in the Tropics’.

Significance of International Day of the Tropics:

• It provides opportunity to take stock of progress across tropics, to share tropical stories and expertise.
• It also acknowledges diversity and potential of tropics region.

History:

• On June 14th, 2016 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that declared June 29th as the International Day of the Tropics.
• The UN chose the date June 29th to mark the anniversary of the inaugural “State of Tropics Report” (SOTT).
• The report was launched in 2014 by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from Myanmar (Burma).

About Tropics:

• Tropics are a region of Earth, defined as area between tropic of Cancer (23°27 N) and the tropic of Capricorn (23°27 S).
• The Tropics account for 36 percent of the Earth’s landmass.
• It includes the Equator and parts of North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Climatic Condition of the Tropics:

• This region is warm all year round.
• The temperature in the Tropics ranges from 77 to 82 degrees F.
• The Tropics get a lot of sun and only have two seasons i.e., the wet season and dry season.
• Some parts of the Tropics, like the Amazon Basin, get nearly 9 feet of rain per year while other areas, such as the Sahara Desert, get only 2 to 10 centimeters of rain a year.
• This difference in precipitation affects which plants and animals live in the different parts of the Tropics.

Important Facts of Tropics:

• The Tropics are home to approximately 80% of world’s biodiversity (much of its language and cultural diversity).
• It hosts about 95% of world’s mangrove forests by area and 99% of mangrove species.
• Although since 1980, area of mangrove forest has decreased in all tropical regions. 
• The Tropics are important because of the number of economic exports come from these regions.
• Also, about 40 percent of the world’s population lives within the tropical zone.

Loss of Biodiversity:

• While biodiversity is greater in the Tropics, the loss of biodiversity is also greater here than in the rest of the world.
• This loss of biodiversity is partly attributed to human activity, such as:

• Destruction of forests and marine ecosystems
• Spread of diseases and invasive species
• Overexploitation of industrial fishing fleets
• Commercial hunters
• Growing impacts of climate change

• Due to the reasons given above, many species of plants and animals in the Tropics face the loss of their habitats. They become vulnerable and endangered.
• Humans too living in the Tropics face many challenges as well.
• More people live in slums in the Tropics than in the rest of the world.

Heat Dome: Canada and parts of United States are experiencing extreme temperatures, due to which hundreds of people have died.

Highlights:

• The abnormal heat wave caused the temperature in Canada to rise to 49.5 degrees Celsius, an all-time record.
• According to the weather experts the heat dome effect is the cause for the sudden rise in temperature.
• Apart from the US, cities as far north as the Arctic Circle broke heat records this week.

What is heat dome?

• According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of US department of commerce, a heat dome occurs when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air like a lid or cap.
• It is created when strong high-pressure atmospheric conditions combine with weather patterns like La Niña, creating vast areas of sweltering heat that get trapped under the high-pressure "dome".
• The phenomenon begins when there is a strong change (or gradient) in ocean temperatures.
• In the process known as convection, the gradient causes more warm air, heated by the ocean surface, to rise over the ocean surface.
• As prevailing winds move the hot air east, the northern shifts of the jet stream trap the air and move it toward land, where it sinks, resulting in heat waves.
• A heat dome typically lasts a week.

Effects of heat domes:

• The trapping of heat can also damage crops, dry out vegetation and result in droughts, according to weather experts.
• The sweltering heat wave also leads to rise in energy demand, especially electricity, leading to pushing up rates.
• The heat domes can also act as fuel to wildfires, which destroys a lot of land area in the US every year.
• Those living without an air conditioner see the temperatures of their homes rising to unbearably high, leading to sudden fatalities like those which are being reported in Canada and parts of the US.

Glacial Lake Atlas: The Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) Pankaj Kumar recently released the Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga Basin.

The Atlas was released in a virtual event, in the presence of Secretary, Department of Space & Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan, senior officers of DoWR, RD & GR, Department of Space, and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

Key Details about Glacial Lake Atlas:

1. It is an initiative under National Hydrology Project (NHP)a Central Sector Scheme implemented by DoWR, RD & GR.
2. The present glacial lake atlas is based on the inventoried glacial lakes in part of Ganga River basin from its origin to foothills of Himalayas covering a catchment area of 2,47,109 sq. km.
3. The study portion of Ganga River basin covers part of India and transboundary region.
4. In the present study, glacial lakes with water spread area greater than 0.25 ha have been mapped using Resourcesat-2 (RS-2) Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor-IV (LISS-IV) satellite data using visual interpretation techniques.
5. Based on its process of lake formation, location, and type of damming material, glacial lakes are identified in nine different types, majorly grouped into four categories.
6. A total of 4,707 glacial lakes have been mapped in the Ganga River basin with a total lake water spread area of 20,685 ha.

Note: Ganga basin is the biggest river basin in the country draining an area of 8,61,452 sq.km.

1. In total, Ganga has 11 basin states. They are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
2. The Atlas is available on Bhuvan portal of NRSC, ISRO, India WRIS Portal and National Hydrology Project (NHP) web site of DoWR, RD & GR.

Utility of the Atlas:

1. The atlas provides a comprehensive and systematic glacial lake database for Ganga River basin with size > 0.25 ha
2. In the context of climate change impact analysis, the atlas can be used as reference data for carrying out change analysis, both with respect to historical and future time periods
3. The atlas also provides authentic database for regular or periodic monitoring changes in spatial extent (expansion/shrinkage), and formation of new lakes
4. The atlas can also be used in conjunction with glacier information for their retreat and climate impact studies.
5. The information on glacial lakes like their type, hydrological, topographical, and associated glaciers are useful in identifying the potential critical glacial lakes and consequent GLOF risk.
6. Central and State Disaster Management Authorities can make use of the atlas for disaster mitigation planning and related program.

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Hyderabad as one of the Implementing Agency under the National Hydrology Project (NHP).They are carrying out hydrological studies using satellite data and geospatial techniques.

Explained: Why Glacial Lakes and Water Bodies in Himalayan Region need to be closely monitored?

About Glaciers:

1. Glaciers are made of layers of compressed snow that move or “flow” due to gravity and the softness of ice relative to rock.
2. A glacier's “tongue” can extend hundreds of kilometers from its high-altitude origins, and the end, or “snout," can advance or retreat based on snow accumulating or melting.
3. Glaciers are found on every continent except Australia and some are hundreds of thousands of years old.
4. A large cluster of glaciers are in the Himalayas

What is a Glacial Lake?

1. A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity.
2. Glacial lakes are common in the high elevation of glacierised basin.
3. They are formed when a glacial ice or moraines erodes the land, and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
4. There are varieties of such lakes, ranging from melt water ponds on the surface of glacier to large lakes in side valleys dammed by a glacier in the main valley.
5. These lakes normally drain their water through seepage in front of the retreating glacier.
6. The moraine creates topographic depression in which the melt water is generally accumulated leading to formation of glacial lake.
7. When this lake is watertight, melt waters will accumulate in the basin until seepage or overflow limits the lake level.
8. Such moraine-dammed lakes appear to be the most common type of glacial lakes.
9. The impoundment of the melt may sometimes be unstable, leading to sudden release of large quantities of stored water.
10. Failure of these ice or moraine dams leading to disastrous destruction events has been documented throughout the world.
11. Flash floods caused by the outburst of glacial lakes, called as Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), are well known in Himalaya where such lakes had often been formed by landslides.
12. GLOFs have immense potential of flooding in downstream areas, causing disastrous consequences due to release of large volumes of water in very short interval of time.
13. Most often, the consequences arising out of such situations are highly unpredictable primarily due to lack of availability of sufficient data regarding rainfall intensity, location of landslide, impounded volume and area and physical conditions of lakes/ water bodies.
14. Therefore, Glacial Lakes and Water Bodies in Himalayan Region need to be closely monitored.

Geography:

Sardar Sarovar Dam: For the first time in history, Sardar Sarovar Dam is providing irrigation water in summer.

Key Details:

• According to the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), as many as 35 dams and reservoirs, close to 1,200 check dams and 1000 village tanks have been filled with Narmada water.
• The dam released about 1.3 Million Acre Feet (MAF) water for irrigation between April 1 and May 31 in its command area of 21.29 lakh hectares.

About Sardar Sarovar Dam:

• Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam is a terminal dam built on the Narmada river at Kevadia in Gujarat’s Narmada district.
• The dam is called the ‘lifeline of Gujarat’.
• The four Indian states namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan receive water and electricity supply from the dam.
• According to the 1979 award of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal, the power benefits from the project are to be shared in the following ratio:

• Madhya Pradesh at 57 per cent,
• Maharashtra at 27 per cent, and
• Gujarat at 16 per cent.

Background:

• The Sardar Sarovar project was a vision of the first deputy prime minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• The foundation stone of the dam was laid out by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961.
• However, the construction of the dam was stopped by the Supreme Court of India in 1995 over concerns of displacement of people.
• Then in 2000–2001, the project was again revived but with a lower height under directions from SC.
• But its height was later again increased to 139 metres in 2017.
• The dam was then inaugurated in 2017 by the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

About Narmada River:

• The Narmada River, also called the Reva and previously also known as Narbada or anglicized as Nerbudda is the 5th longest river in India, the largest west-flowing River and largest flowing river of Madhya Pradesh.
• This River rises from Narmada Kund, located at Amarkantak range of mountains and traverses Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat between Vindhya and Satpura hill ranges before and falling into Gulf of Cambay in the Arabian Sea.
• This river is located in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat state of India.

Importance of river Narmada in Indian Culture:

• Narmada is considered the mother and giver of peace.
• The river basin is home to India's best teak and hardwood forests.
• The sacred Narmada River, the lifeline of Central India, is worshipped as Narmada maiyya (mother) or Ma Rewa (derived from “rev” meaning leaping one).
• She is one of the five holy rivers of India.
• It is the only one which has the tradition of being circumambulated from source to sea and back, on a pilgrimage or yatra.

Additional Info:

About Garudeshwar weir:

• Garudeshwar weir is being constructed on the river Narmada near the Statue of Unity.
• Located at Garudeshwar at a distance of 9 kilometre from Sadhu bet island and 12 kilometre downstream from  Sardar Sarovar dam; Garudeshwar weir will increase visual beauty of both – the Statue of Unity and the Valley of Flowers by creating a small reservoir or lake.
• The total height of the weir will be 31.75 metre.
• Hydro electricity will be produced through this weir.
• The reservoir formed will also provide a navigation channel of 7 kilometre for ferry service from the Shreshtha Bharat Bhawan to the Statue of Unity.

Indian Policy

ONORC: The Supreme Court recently directed all states and Union Territories (UTs) to implement the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) system by July 31st, 2021.

About ONORC:

• One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) is a government scheme to make sure that no citizen sleeps hungry.
• ONORC was launched in August, 2019.
• However, the work on the portability of ration card had begun as early as April 2018.
• It was rolled out under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

Objective:

The ONORC scheme is aimed at enabling migrant workers and their family members to buy subsidized ration from any fair price shop anywhere in the country under the National Food Security Act,2013.

• For instance, a migrant worker from Bihar will be able to access PDS benefits in Mumbai, where he or she may have gone in search of work.
• On the other hand, members of his or her family can still go to their ration dealer back home.

How many States have implemented ONORC?

• Till date, 32 states and Union Territories have joined the ONORC, covering about 69 crore NFSA beneficiaries.
• Four states are yet to join the scheme — Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal.

Incentives for implementation of ONORC to the States:

• To promote ONORC reform in the Public Distribution System(PDS), the Government of India has provided incentives to states.
• The Centre had even set the implementation of ONORC as a precondition for additional borrowing by states during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

How does ONORC work?

• ONORC is based on technology that involves details of beneficiaries’ ration card, Aadhaar number, and electronic Points of Sale (ePoS).
• The system identifies a beneficiary through biometric authentication on ePos devices at fair price shops.
• The system runs with the support of two portals.
• They are Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) and Annavitran, which host all the relevant data.
• When a ration card holder goes to a fair price shop, he or she identifies himself or herself through biometric authentication on ePoS, which is matched real-time with details on the Annavitaran portal.
• Once the ration card details are verified, the dealer hands out the beneficiary’s entitlements.
• While the Annavitaran portal maintains a record of intra-state transactions - inter-district and intra-district — the IM-PDS portal records the inter-state transactions.

About the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013):

• The National Food Security Act 2013 (also 'Right to Food Act') is an Indian Act of Parliament which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of the country's 1.2 billion people.
• It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
• The NFSA 2013 converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India.
• It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System.
• In addition, it also recognizes maternity entitlements.

UDISE 2019-20: The Unified District Information System for Education Plus report (UDISE+) for 2019-2020 was recently released by Union minister of education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

UDISE+ report highlighted some interesting facts, both positive and negative about Indian school education system.

Key Points of the report:

• As per the report, Gross Enrolment Ratio at all levels of school education has improved in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
• Enrolment of girls from primary to higher secondary has increased substantially by over 14 lakh in 2019-20 as compared to 2018-19.
• Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, the Gender Parity Index at both Secondary and Higher Secondary levels have improved. Enrolment of Divyang students has increased by over 6.5 per cent over 2018-19.
• The report also shows a remarkable improvement in the number of schools with functional electricity, with functional computers, internet facility in 2019-20 over the previous year.
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio too has improved at all levels of school education.

Note: Pupil-Teacher Ratio is defined as “the average number of pupils per teacher, teaching at specific level of education in a given school year.

• In addition, major improvement has been seen in the number of schools with hand wash facility. In year 2019-20, more than 90 per cent schools in India had hand wash facility as compared to around 36 per cent in 2012-13.

What is UDISE+ report?

• UDISE+, launched in 2018-2019, is the largest Management Information Systems on school education.
• It covers 1.5 million schools, 8.5 million teachers and 250 million children.
• It was launched for speeding up data entry, reducing errors, improving data quality and easing its verification.
• It is an advanced and improved version of UDISE which was launched in 2012-2013 by integrating DISE for elementary education & SEMIS for secondary education.

Superannuation age of LIC Chairman: The Union Government has recently extended superannuation age of IPO-bound LIC Chairman to up to 62 years.

Key Details:

• The superannuation age was extended by amending Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960.
• The changes made in rules are to be called as “Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Amendment Rules, 2021.
• The retirement age for top executives of majority of PSUs is 60 years except in State Bank of India (SBI).
• As per notification, if Central Government appoints Chairman for a term of office extending beyond 60 years of age, or extends the term of office to a period beyond 60 years, he shall not superannuate till such terms are completed or till he attains age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.

Background

• Central government had approved a nine-month extension to LIC Chairman M R Kumar from June 30, 2021 to March 13, 2022, recently in the backdrop of insurer’s proposed initial public offer towards end of fiscal year 2021-2022.
• In her Budget speech this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of LIC would be floated in 2021-22 as part of the ambitious Rs 1.75 lakh crore disinvestment target.
• The government has already amended the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 along with the Finance Act 2021 to facilitate the public offer.
• Under the amendment, government significantly increased authorised capital of LIC to Rs 25,000 crore from Rs 100 crore which will facilitate listing.
• Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 mandates, authorized share capital of LIC will be Rs 25,000 crore divided into 2,500 crore shares of Rs 10 each.

About LIC of India:

• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is an Indian government owned insurance and Investment Corporation.
• It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India (GoI).
• The Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance of India Act on 19 June 1956 creating the Life Insurance Corporation of India, which started operating in September of that year.
• LIC of India was established on 1 September 1956.
• Over 245 insurance companies and provident societies were merged to create the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India.
• The nationalization of the life insurance business in India was a result of the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, which had created a policy framework for extending state control over at least 17 sectors of the economy, including life insurance.
• It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Crop Insurance Awareness Campaign: Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, recently launched the Crop Insurance Awareness Campaign for Fasal Bima Yojana.

Key Details:

• It was launched during Crop Insurance Week.
• The campaign is a part of Government’s India@75 campaign ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, commemorating 75 years of India’s Independence.
• Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tomar said that the Fasal Bima Yojana aims to provide security cover to each farmer.
• He announced that the scheme had achieved milestone figure of 95 thousand crore of claims paid to farmers.
• The Agriculture Minister also flagged off IEC vans which will continue to engage the farmers on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana throughout the crop insurance week.
• Furthermore, he also launched PMBFY e-brochure, FAQ booklet and a guidebook to assist farmers and on ground coordinators to understand the scheme, its benefits and the process of crop insurance.

Aim:

• This campaign aims to bring stories of beneficiary farmers through videos and photo stories on social media.
• Stories of those farmers would be shared who have not only benefited from this scheme but helped entire farming community through their thought-leadership.

About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):

• The PMFBY is a Crop Indurance Scheme that has successfully completes 5 Years of operations on 13th January 2021.
• The PMFBY was launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• It is an insurance service scheme for farmers for their yields.
• It aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum.
• It was formulated in line with One Nation–One Scheme theme by replacing earlier two schemes Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) and National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS).
• The scheme is being administered by Ministry of Agriculture and is implemented by empanelled general insurance companies.
• The scheme is compulsory for loanee farmers availing Crop Loan /KCC account for notified crops and voluntary for other others.
• The Scheme covers all Food & Oilseeds crops and Annual Commercial/Horticultural Crops for which past yield data is available and for which requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) are being conducted under General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES).

Indian polity

Enforcing Contracts Portal:  The Department of Justice has recently launched ‘Enforcing Contracts Portal.’

This web portal, launched on 29 June 2021 seeks to be a source of comprehensive information on legislative and policy reforms being undertaken on the “Enforcing Contracts” regime for Ease of Doing Business in India.

Key Details:

• Justice department launched this portal with an aim of promoting ease of doing business and improving ‘Contract Enforcement Regime’ across India.
• The portal will provide easy access to latest information on commercial cases in Dedicated Commercial Courts of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
• It will also provide access to a repository of commercial laws.
• The portal is envisioned to be a comprehensive source of information pertaining to the legislative and policy reforms being undertaken on the Enforcing Contracts parameters.
• Legislative and policy reforms undertaken to strengthen Enforcing Contracts regime for Ease of Doing Business is being monitored by Department of Justice under Ministry of Law & Justice.
• Dedicated Commercial Courts have been set up for speedy resolution of commercial disputes and boast of dedicated infrastructure & exclusive judicial human power.
• The new portal also hosts online reporting by all high courts regarding the Mediation and Arbitration centres annexed to the Commercial Courts in order to monitor and promote institutional mediation and arbitration by way of Pre-institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) of commercial cases.

Note: PIMS has been introduced with the aim of reducing pendency of cases and to promote mediation as a viable dispute resolution alternative in commercial cases.

• Information on commercial court and related services can be easily accessed by portal using several features like-

1. Details or links of Dedicated Commercial Courts in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru
2. Instructive videos related to e-filing
3. Advocate registration
4. Manuals on using Electronic Case Management Tools (ECMTs) like “JustIS app for judicial officers”
5. e-Courts services app for use by lawyers
6. Repository of all related commercial laws for ready reference.

About Enforcing Contracts:

• The Enforcing Contracts is an essential area that measures time and cost to resolve a standardized commercial dispute as well as a series of good practices in the judiciary.

Parliamentary Privileges: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on science and technology, recently moved a privilege motion against news channel Times Now.

Key Highlights:

• He passed the privilage motion for “falsified and mischievous” reporting of the proceedings of the panel’s meeting by news channel Times Now.
• Mr. Ramesh, in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, wrote that the agenda of the meeting was on “Vaccine Development for COVID-19” and “Genetic sequencing of coronavirus and its variants”.
• But, the channel falsely reported that the proceedings involved a discussion on the ‘PM CARES fund’ and that this resulted in ‘high drama’.
• Thus, this was patently false, and no such discussion or events ever took place.

What are Parliamentary Privileges?

• Parliamentary Privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.
• Article 105 of the Constitution expressly mentions two privileges, that is, freedom of speech in Parliament and right of publication of its proceedings.
• Apart from the privileges as specified in the Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, provides for freedom from arrest and detention of members under civil process during the continuance of the meeting of the House or of a committee thereof and forty days before its commencement and forty days after its conclusion.

Breach of privilege:

When any of the above mentioned rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.

Then, a notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.

What is the role of the speaker under such circumstances?

• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.
• The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.
• If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under relevant rules, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

Applicability:

• The Constitution also extends the parliamentary privileges to those persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees.
• These include the Attorney General of India.
• However, the parliamentary privileges do not extend to the President who is also an integral part of the Parliament. Article 361 of the Constitution provides for privileges for the President.

Suresh N Patel: The incumbent Vigilance Commissioner, Suresh N Patel has recently been appointed as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India in the Central Vigilance Commission with effect.

Key Points:

• He has been appointed in place of Sanjay Kothari, who completed his term on June 23, 2021.
• He will remain on the post until the appointment of the new Central Vigilance Commissioner.
• The Central Vigilance Commission is headed by the CVC and can have a maximum of two vigilance commissioners.
• Currently, Mr Patel is the only VC in the commission.
• The Personnel Ministry has invited applications for the posts of CVC and a vigilance commissioner.

About CVC:

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body.

CVC was set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam, to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.

It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.

Consequent upon promulgation of an Ordinance by the President, the CVC has been made a multi member Commission with "statutory status" with effect from 25th August,1998.

Present status of the CVC:

• The CVC Bill was passed by both the houses of Parliament in 2003 and the President gave its assent on September 11, 2003. Thus the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003 (No45 0f 2003) came into effect from that date.
• The Annual Report of the CVC not only gives the details of the work done by it but also brings out the system failures which lead to corruption in various Departments/Organizations, system improvements; various preventive measures and cases in which the commission's advises were ignored etc.

Members:

The Commission shall consist of:

• A Central Vigilance Commissioner - Chairperson;
• Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners - Members;

Pushkar Singh Dhami: Pushkar Singh Dhami, a two-term MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, has become the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

He took oath as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand in Dehradun on 4 July 2021.

 He replaced Tirath Singh Rawat.

45-year-old Pushkar Singh Dhami has become the youngest CM of Uttharakhand.

Key Points:

• The Legislative Party meet took place at the State Headquarters in Dehradun to elect the new Uttarkhand Chief Minister in the presence of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and other BJP leaders.
• He was elected by the State legislature party as its leader on 3rd July 2021, following the resignation of Tirath Singh Rawat.
• Mr. Rawat had submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya on 2nd July 2021.
• He had quit citing constitutional reasons, of not seeing his way clear to getting elected as a member of the Assembly in Uttarakhand within the stipulated six month period.
• However, he continues to be a Lok Sabha MP from the State.

About Pushkar Singh Dhami:

• Born in Pithoragarh district in 1975, Pushkar Singh Dhami is a law graduate in human resource management and industrial relations.
• Dhami has worked in different positions in the RSS and its affiliate bodies for 33 years.
• He was also a member of the ABVP for 10 years, during which time he worked in the Awadh Prant region of Uttar Pradesh.
• He had been the president of BJP’s Uttarakhand Yuva Morcha twice, from 2002 to 2008.
• Dhami had also served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Bhagat Singh Koshiyari when he was the chief minister in 2001-2002.
• He also held the post of vice-chairman (with state minister rank) of the urban monitoring committee in the state.

About Uttarakhand:

• It is a state in northern India crossed by the Himalayas.
• Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India On 9 November 2000.
• It was carved from the Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh.
• Its winter Capital is Dehradun and summer capital is Gairsain.
• The Chief Minister and the Governor of Uttarakhand are Pushkar Singh Dhami and Baby Rani Maurya respectively.

International

GCI 2020: United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies — International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has released the Global Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020.

About GCI:

• The GCI is a composite index created, analyzed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• It measures the commitment to cybersecurity of its 194 member countries to raise cybersecurity awareness.
• The latest report is the fourth GCI edition by the ITU.
• The first version of GCI was launched six years ago.

How does GCI measure countries’ commitment to cybersecurity on a global scale?

The development or engagement of each country is assessed along five pillars –

(i) Legal measures,

(ii) Technical measures,

(iii) Organizational measures,

(iv) Capacity development, and

(v) Cooperation-

Then it is aggregated into a composite score.

The countries were asked 82 questions where 20 indicators were measured.

India's ranking:

• According to a United Nations report released, India has jumped 37 places to 10th position in the Global Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020.

Performance of India and its neighbours:

• India is placed on the 10th spot.
• In 2018, it was ranked on the 47th spot.
• It was ranked rank 47 in 2019.
• In the Asia-Pacific region India secured the 4th spot.
• Neighbours China and Pakistan were ranked at 33 and 79, respectively.

Global rankings:

• The top rank in the GCI was achieved by the US with a score of 100.
• The UK and Saudi Arabia finished second, tied for next place with a score of 99.54.
• In the Asia Pacific region, South Korea and Singapore are on top with a score of 98.52, which ranks fourth globally.
• Other countries at the top of the index include Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia (98.06) at fifth place, Lithuania at sixth, Japan at seventh and Canada, France and India at the subsequent positions.
• Among other countries, Turkey (97.49) was ranked 11th, Germany (97.41) at 13th, China (92.53) at 33rd and Israel (90.93) at 36th position.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

• ITU was founded in 1865 and is an integral part of United Nations 1947.
• It has widest decision-making scope among international ICT organizations with respect to issues addressed and types of decisions made. 
• Its treaties provide an international legal framework for cooperation between states, private sector etc.

UNSC High-level Open Debate: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will address the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) High-level Open Debate on Children and armed conflict on 28 June 2021 through video conferencing.

The debate will be chaired by the President of Estonia Ms. Kersti Kaljulaid.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Executive Director of UNICEF Ms. Henrietta Fore will also address the High-Level Open Debate.

Baihetan Hydro Project: The Government of China officially recently operationalised the two units of giant Baihetan hydropower plant, which is the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam, to start generating energy.

Highlights:

The Baihetan Dam is set up on the Jinsha River, in southwestern China.

The giant Baihetan hydropower plant on the upstream branch of China's Yangtze River began generating electricity for the first time.

The project's first two 1-gigawatt (GW) turbines will start operating after a three-day trial.

About Baihetan Dam:

1. Baihetan Dam was built by the China Three Gorges Corporation which is the world’s biggest investor in hydro, solar and wind generation.
2. This three Gorges Dam is located on the border between southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
3. It is part of a cascade of dams on the Jinsha river, which is the upstream section of the Yangtze.
4. The dam is a 289-meter-tall (948 feet) double-curvature arch dam.
5. Total installed capacity of the project is 16 million kilowatts.
6. Hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units.
7. Each unit has a capacity of 1 million kilowatts.
8. This is the largest single-unit capacity worldwide.

Aim:

1. Through the Baihetan Dam, the Chinese government aims to curb surging fossil fuel demand by building more hydropower capacity.

Background:

1. The Dam has been operationalised in the backdrop of 100th anniversary of ruling Communist Party of China on 1st July 2021. 
2. The project is part of a national scheme to generate electricity and deliver it to high energy-consuming regions on the eastern coast, and is also designed to strengthen control over water flows during the heavy summer flood season.
3. This project symbolizes the efficiency of Chinese Communist Party in planning and completing large-scale projects.

About Yangtze River:

1. Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and third-longest in world.
2. It is also the longest worldwide to flow entirely within one country.
3. It originates from Jari Hill in Tanggula Mountains in Tibetan Plateau and flows for 6,300 km in east direction to drain into East China Sea.
4. It is considered as sixth-largest river by discharge volume in world.
5. The river drains one-fifth of China’s land area.
6. About Jinsha River:
7. It is the Chinese name for upper stretches of Yangtze River.
8. River flows across Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces in western China.
9. It passes through Tiger Leaping Gorge.
10. It is significant in generating hydroelectric power. Several worlds’ largest hydroelectric power stations have been constructed on Jinsha River.

About China:

1. China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia.
2. It is governed by the Communist Party of China.
3. It is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army, the People's Liberation Army, and the second-largest defense budget.
4. The capital of China is Beijing.
5. The currency used here is Yuan (CNY) and Renminbi (RMB).
6. The yuan is the unit of account of the country's economic and financial system while Renminbi is the official currency of China where it acts as a medium of exchange.
7. The current President of china is Xi Jinping.

International Day of Parliamentarism: International Day of Parliamentarism is observed globally on 30 June every year.

Highlights:

1. It marks day of establishment of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global organization of parliaments in 1889.
2. The year 2021 is the 132nd anniversary of IPU.
3. The year 2021 marks the 4th edition of the day.

Significance:

1. The Day celebrates parliaments and ways during which parliamentary systems of government improve the everyday lives of individuals throughout the world.
2. It is also a chance for parliaments to spot challenges and stock ways to deal with them effectively.

History:

1. It was established by United Nations General Assembly in 2018 by adopting n its resolution A/RES/72/278. The day seeks to unite all parliamentarians of the world.
2. The first International Day of Parliamentarism was celebrated in 2018.

Importance of Parliament:

1. Parliaments play a vital role in National plans and strategies.
2. It ensures greater transparency and accountability at both national as well as global level.
3. Strong parliaments are a cornerstone of democracy as they represent voice of people, allocate funds to implement laws and policies, pass laws and hold governments accountable to people.

About IPU:

1. IPU is an acronym for Inter-Parliamentary Union.
2. The IPU is an international organization of national parliaments.
3. It connects national parliaments in order to promote greater accountability, transparency and participation at global level.
4. Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations.
5. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
6. The current President of IPU is Gabriela Cuevas Barron.
7. The current Secretary-General is Martin Chungong.

About Parliaments:

1. The Parliament is a national assembly of elected representatives.
2. Every nation in world has some form of representative government be it Presidential form or Parliamentary form.
3. A parliamentary system is of two categories:

1. Bicameral-with two chambers of parliament
2. Unicameral-with one chamber

1. Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, which makes a total of 272 chambers of parliament with more than 46,000 members of parliament.
2. Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, founded in 930 is World’s oldest parliament.

Indian Parliament:

1. India's federal legislative branch consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) as the upper house, and the Lok Sabha (House of the People) as the lower house.
2. The House of People and the Council of States constitute India's bicameral Parliament.

Bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol: The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill to remove statues honoring those who upheld slavery or backed the Confederacy from the Capitol building, which displays statues selected by all 50 states.

Highlights:

The bill was passed by a vote of 285 to 120.

Every Democrat present and 67 Republicans voted for it.

The bill heads to the Senate for consideration, where it would need 10 Republican senators to join every Democrat to pass the upper chamber.

Key Points:

1. The bill will remove a bust of the former Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that denied enslaved people the right to be citizens.
2. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, said on the House floor before the vote that it’s time to remove those symbols of slavery, segregation and sedition from these halls.

Trump-era Rules: President Joe Biden recently signed three separate bills on June 30, 2021 that dismantle part of Donald Trump era.

Key Details:

These signed bills -

1. Block payday lenders from avoiding caps on interest rates,
2. Restrict climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil & gas drilling
3. End rules on how Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settles claims.

Each of these rules reflects a return to common sense and a commitment to the common good.

The three bills passed by House and Senate through Congressional Review Act allow Congress to overturn certain regulations that were in place for a short time.

Background:

1. Under former President Donald Trump, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had enabled payday lenders to charge interest rates in excess of what was allowed by the state.
2. Payday lenders were able to partner with a nationally chartered bank to make high-cost loans and avoid state usury laws.
3. The Trump administration also loosened rules on methane emissions from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells.

About EEOC:

1. EEOC refers to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
2. EEOC is a federal agency, established through Civil Rights Act of 1964.
3. It was established to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.
4. It investigates discrimination complaints on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information etc.
5. It also mediates and settles discrimination complaints prior to their investigation.
6. It has been empowered to file civil discrimination suits against employers on behalf of alleged victims. It can also adjudicate claims of discrimination against federal agencies.

About USA:

1. The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country consisting of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions.
2. The 50 states covers a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean.
3. The currency used in USA is United States dollar - USD also abbreviated US$.
4. The capital of US is Washington, D.C.
5. The current President of US is Joe Biden

Canada Day: Canada Day is the national day of Canada which is celebrated on 1 July every year.

Highlights:

• It is a federal statutory holiday that celebrates the anniversary of the Canadian Confederation.
• Canada Day was previously known as Dominion Day in honour of the British Empire's Dominion of Canada.
• Gradually Canada gained political control and governance over its own affairs and gradually became independent.
• Since then, Canada Day is observed every year on 1 July to pay tribute to the people involved in the independence struggle; to remember and celebrate Canada’s independence.

History of Canada Day:

• Although Canada was formally established on July 1, 1867, it did not achieve total independence from British authority until 1982.
• The British North America Act was signed on July 1, 1867, uniting Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada.
• The passing of this Act gave the people of the country power to control the Canadian Constitution and became a national milestone in the way of the country’s independence.
• Later, with the constitutional changes, Canada gained more political control and governance over its own affairs, such as national defence, foreign affairs and more.

About Canada:

• Canada is a country in North America.
• It is the second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America.
• Its southern and western border with the United States, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border.
• Canada's capital is Ottawa.
• The currency used here is Canadian Dollar.
• The current Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau.

National

National Statistics Day: National Statistics Day is celebrated on June 29 on the birth anniversary of late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.

Key Points:

• The day is observed to popularize the use of Statistics in everyday life.
• This year's National Statistics Day marks the 128th birth anniversary of Professor Mahalanobis.
• The first National Statistics Day was observed on June 29, 2006.

2021 National Statistics Day Theme:

• End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture (Sustainable Developent Goal or SDG 2 of the UN) is the theme of this year's National Statistics Day.
• Goal 2 seeks "sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms by 2030 and to achieve food security."

Events of National Statistics Day 2021:

• This year, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the main event of the Statistics Day, 2021 is being organized through Video Conferencing/ Webcasting at NITI Aayog, New Delhi.
• The Chief Guest of the event is Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and Ministry of Planning.
• During the event the Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award winner, 2021 will be felicitated.
• The winners of Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics, 2021 and Prof C. R. Rao National Award for Young Statistician, 2021 will also be announced.
• The winners of the ‘On the Spot Essay Writing Competition, 2021’ for Post Graduate Students on the subject relevant to statistics organized at the All India level will also be felicitated. 

History:

• The Government of India (GoI) decided to celebrate National Statistics Day on the outstanding contribution made by Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the field of economic planning and statistics and therefore National Statistics Day mark his birth anniversary.
• Notification to this effect was published in the Gazette of India on June 05, 2007.

Note: World Statistics Day is held every five years on October 20th. The day celebrates the achievements of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

About PC Mahalanobis: 

• PC Mahalanobis is often referred to as the 'father of Indian statistics'.
• He was born on June 29, 1893 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. He died on 28 June, 1972 in Calcutta.
• He was a key member of the first Planning Commission of independent India.

Awards:

He was honoured with many prestigious awards by India as well as foreign countries. They are:

• Padma Vibhushan (1968)
• Weldon Memorial Prize from the University of Oxford (1944)
• Fellow of the Royal Society, London(1945)

His Contributions:

• The key contribution of PC Mahalanobis is known as "Mahalanobis distance'.
• He was the member of the planning commission (1956-61) and he gave two-sector Input-output model for the Second Five Year Plan which later became known as the Nehru-Mahalanobis model.
• He founded Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Calcutta on 17 December, 1931.
• A few of his major works include the introduction of techniques for conducting large-scale sample surveys.
• He was a pioneer in anthropometry studies and in pilot surveys.
• He is credited with calculating acreages and crop yields by using random sampling methods.
• He had also devised a statistical method, which could be used to compare the socio-economic situation of different groups of people.
• He was instrumental in formulating India's strategy for industrialization.
• He was a pioneer in applying statistics to planning for flood control.

About Mahalanobis distance:

• The formula is used to find the distance between a point and a distribution.
• It is based on measurements in multiple dimensions.
• It is widely used in the field of cluster analysis and classification.

What is Statistics?

• Statistics is the discipline concerning collection, analysis, organization, interpretation, and presentation of data.

Importance of Statistics:

• Statistics is applied to a scientific, industrial, or social problem which starts with studying a statistical population or statistical model.
• Statistics helps in formulating economic plans and policies. It presents facts in a precise form.
• It also plays an important role in health field and helps conduct social surveys.
• It is an important part of Mathematics.

NATRAX – HST: Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Prakash Javdekar on 29 June 2021 inaugurated The National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) - the High-Speed Track (HST) located in Pithampur, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

• This HST is the longest such track in Asia and world's fifth-longest in the world.
• Speaking at the e-inauguration of the world-class 11.3 km High Speed Track, Javdekar termed this as a proud moment for India and a key initiative in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

About NATRAX Facility:

• The NATRAX facility measures 11.3 km in length.
• NATRAX is one of the state-of-the-art automotive testing and certification centre under NATRiP.
• It is a flagship project of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, planned under the Automotive Mission Plan launched by the Centre.
• It is located near the vibrant industrial township of Pithampur (District Dhar), which is 50 km from the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh i.e. Indore, situated on NH-3 By-Pass Road (Indore– Mumbai).
• The center has been developed in approx 3,000 acres of land.

Power of NATRAX Centre:

• The NATRAX centre has multiple test capabilities like measurements of maximum speed, acceleration, constant speed fuel consumption, emission tests through real road driving simulation, high speed handling and stability evaluation during maneuvered such as lane change, high speed durability testing, etc. and is a Centre of excellence for Vehicle Dynamics.

What is High Speed Track (HST)?

• The High-Speed Track (HST) is used for measuring the maximum speed capability of high-end cars like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Tesla and so forth which cannot be measured on any of the Indian test tracks.

Key Highlights of HST:

• The high-speed track has been developed in an area of 1000 acres of land.
• It is a one-stop solution for all sorts of high-speed performance tests for the widest categories of vehicles ranging from 2 wheelers to heavy tractor-trailers.
• It will be used for measuring the maximum speed capabilities of high-end cars and other categories of vehicles.
• It also includes different test tracks to aid automotive and component testing.
• It is located centrally in Madhya Pradesh, which makes it accessible for most of the major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). 
• Foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will be looking at NATRAX HST for the development of prototype cars for Indian conditions.
• At present, foreign OEMs go to their respective high-speed track abroad for high-speed test requirements.

Significance:

• The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises is committed to fulfilling Prime Minister’s dream of ensuring that India becomes a hub of auto manufacturing.
• The expansion of the automobiles and manufacturing industries will help generate employment.
• The promotion of manufacturing and automobile industry will help empowering the nation at a larger scale.

National Doctors' Day 2021: In India, Doctor's Day is observed on 1st July by the Indian medical Association (IMA) to mark the importance of doctors hold in our lives. This day is also meant to commemorate the medical industry and its advancements.

On the occasion of National Doctor’s Day, PM Modi  addressed the doctor’s community at a program organized by the IMA.

Why is National Doctor's Day celebrated on July 1?

National Doctors’ Day is actually celebrated on July 1 to mark the birthday of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, who was a world renowned physician, freedom fighter, and a politician who held the post of chief minister of West Bengal.

History:

• The first National Doctors’ Day was celebrated in the year 1991 in the honour of Dr BC Roy’s contributions to serving humanity and to the medical field.
• He was born on July 1, 1882, and incidentally passed away on the same date in the year 1962.
• Dr Roy was awarded with the Bharat Ratna on February 4, 1961.
• He was instrumental in establishment of institutions like Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Victoria Institution (college), and Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, among others.
• Apart from his service to the nation and to the field of medicine, Dr Roy was also instrumental in the establishment of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

More about Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy:

• Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy was born in Patna, Bihar.
• He studied at Patna Collegiate School, Presidency College Calcutta and Patna College.
• He did his post-graduation from St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, where his application was accepted by the Dean after 30 rejections.
• There he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians and a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He returned to India in 1911 and whole-heartedly devoted himself to community service and to the freedom movement.
• Dr Roy actively helped students and freedom fighters during the struggle for independence.
• He was also close confidante and doctor of Mahatma Gandhi.
• He was also the second chief minister of West Bengal.

National Doctors’ Day – Significance:

• The day is dedicated to all the doctors and healthcare workers who have been serving the people by risking their lives.
• The day is observed to recognize their functions and obligations.
• Pandemic has once again has become a reminder about the contributions and sacrifices made by doctors and healthcare workers around the globe.

Additional info:

• Doctor’s day is not just celebrated in India but also in different countries but on different dates.
• In the US it is observed on March 30,
• In Cuban the day is observed on December 3.
• For the first time the Doctor's Day was observed in March 1933 in the US state of Georgia and was celebrated by sending a card to the physicians and offering flowers on the graves of doctors who have passed away.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Day: GST Day is celebrated on 1st July every year by the Government of India (GoI) to mark the roll-out of the historic tax reform.

Highlights:

• This year, marks 4th anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• The date of July 1 was designated by the central government as 'GST Day'.
• The main objective behind the implementation of this tax is to make a uniform tax system in the country.
• During these years, several key policy initiatives were taken by the government to make the GST system and compliance mechanism simple, transparent and technology driven.
• This year on GST day, the Union ministry of finance will issue certificates of appreciation to over 54,000 GST payers for timely filing of returns and a cash payment of the tax.

History:

• The government decided to celebrate July 1, 2018, as 'GST Day' to mark the first anniversary of the new indirect tax regime.
• GST was launched on the 1st July, 2017 in a majestic ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament on the midnight of 30th June, 2017.
• The celebration of the 1st GST day included listing the remarkable successes achieved that year, followed by the motto, “One Nation, One Tax, One Market.”
• The tax implementation was deemed to be the 2nd historic moment in India’s independence despite the initial hardships.

Significance:

• India’s biggest tax reform is a perfect example of cooperative federalism and its motto of ‘One Nation, One Tax, One Market’- binds India into an Economic Union.
• One Nation, One Tax, One Market became a reality one year ago with the stroke of midnight on 1st July.
• Before implementation of GST, Indian taxation system was a mix of central, state and local area levies.
• GST replaced multi-layered, complex indirect tax structure with a simple, transparent and technology-driven tax regime.

What is GST?

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect, multi-stage, comprehensive tax in India, imposed on the supply of goods and services.
• It is intended to replace other indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT).
• The tax came into effect from 1 July 2017 through the implementation of the One Hundred and First Amendment of the Constitution of India by the Indian government. The GST replaced the existing multiple taxes levied by the central and state governments.
• As per the newly implemented tax system, there are 4 different types of GST:

1. Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST)
2. State Goods and Services Tax (SGST)
3. Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST)
4. Union Territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST).

20 key facts related GST:

1. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first implemented in France.

2. India's GST is based on the Canadian model.

3. GST in India was made on the recommendation of Vijay Kelkar Committee.

4. GST in India was implemented on July 1, 2017

5. The first state which implemented the GST was Assam.

6. Amitabh Bachchan has been made the brand ambassador of GST.

7. GST has been implemented under Article 279 of the Indian constitution.

8. GST Council was formed by the President of India in September 2016.

9. At present Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the Chairman of the GST Council.

10. At present GST Council has 33 members out of which 2 members are of centre and 31 members are from 28 state and 3 Union territories with legislation.

11. GST has been implemented by the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016.

12. The GST was the 122nd constitutional amendment bill to be introduced in the Parliament of India.

13. The President of India approved GST bill on 8th September 2016.

14. During passing of GST bill in parliament; 336 votes casted in the favour of GST bill and 11 votes were against it.

15. There is a provision of 5 years imprisonment for those who do not pay GST.

16. There are 5 rates of taxes in GST i.e. 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

17. GST is an indirect tax in broader terms it can be said a federal tax.

18. After the implementation of GST, sales tax, service tax, customs duty, excise duty, VAT, Octroi tax etc. will not exist.

19. The biggest reason behind the implementation of the GST is to bring uniformity in the tax system of the country.

20. After the implementation of GST, tradition of 'Tax upon Tax' will be eliminated.

Importance of tax payment:

• Taxes paid by citizens contribute to their economic benefit via services and operations.
• They basically help the government run the country as a budget and source of income.
• This helps to finance public sector services that indeed aid the population.
• These include healthcare, defense, and the legal administration of the country.
• In addition, tax payments help foster social security and the development of the economy.

Architecture and education are also aided by tax funding.

How does GST Help?

• GST also helps level the inequalities in income due to the progressive structure.
• The income effect is curved due to the reduced purchasing power of taxpayers.
• There is also a substitution effect imposed between taxed and untaxed goods.
• GST checks all the necessities of tax and helps consolidate all the indirect taxes under one umbrella factor.

Tax evasion:

• Tax evasion is the illegal practice of deliberately avoiding the payment of taxes to the government.
• Tax evasion is considered a criminal offence, and the entity doing so is liable to judicial charges and penalties.

National Chartered Accountants Day: Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) celebrates its Foundation Day each year on July 1 as 'Chartered Accountants' Day' or 'CA Day'.

Highlights:

This year, 2021 is the 73rd celebration of the day.

It is observed to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution of India's most professional and old finance and accounting body ICAI.

ICAI is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The CA Act, 1949 for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India.  

History:

• Before ICAI came into existence, the British Government in India used to maintain accounts using the Companies Act. The British Government then launched an accountancy diploma course for auditors.
• The people who completed this course became eligible to work as auditors all across India.
• However, the accountancy profession remained unregulated in India until an expert committee, in 1948, suggested the formation of an autonomous body to regulate the same.
• It was followed by the passing of Chartered Accountant Act in 1949.
• The ICAI was established on 1 July 1949.

Significance:

Chartered Accountants (CA) play a very important role in development of our country.

Moreover, the ICAI is the most professional institute which regulates the accounting standard in India.

The organization has over 2.5 lakh members.

The official motto of ICAI is taken from the Upanishad which reads, “Ya esha supteshu jagriti”. It means 'the one who is awake in those that sleep'.         

ICAI:

• It refers to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
• ICAI functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India (GOI).
• It was established on 1st July in the year 1949 under an Act passed in Parliament.
• It is the national professional accounting body of India and also the second biggest accounting organization in the world.
• It is the sole licensing and regulatory body for the financial audit and accounting profession in India. 
• Its recommendations are followed by everyone – from the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to companies and accounting organizations.
• Its affairs are managed by a Council as per the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• The current President of ICAI Nihar Jambusaria.

NFRA:

• It refers to the National Financial Reporting Authority. NFRA was constituted on 1 October 2018 by the Government of India under Sub Section (1) of section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• The current Chairman of NFRA is R.Sridharan.

Digital India: The government’s flagship programme- Digital India has completed six years on 1 July 2021.

Highlights:

• The vision of Digital India programme is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed a virtual event to mark the completion of six years of Digital Indian programme.
• The event also witnessed the presence of Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• The programme is being organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• The digital India initiative was launched with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
• The programme was started on 1 July, 2015.

On the occasion, PM Modi interacted with beneficiaries of various schemes of Digital India programme, including Diksha, eNAM, eSanjeevani solution for telemedicine, DigiBunai and PM SVANidhi scheme via video conference.

Key points of PM's Address:

• In his address PM Modi said that the data and demographic dividend combined with India’s proven tech prowess presents massive opportunity for the country, and this decade will be ‘India’s techade’.
• He highlighted Various Schemes of Digital India programme:

• Diksha: It stands for Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing. It serves as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers. All teachers across the nation will be equipped with advanced digital technology.
• eNAM: It was launched on 14th April 2016 as a pan-India electronic trade portal linking Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across the States.
• eSanjeevani: It is a telemedicine service platform of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• DigiBunai: DigiBunai aids the weavers to create digital artwork and translate the saree design to be loaded to the looms. DigiBunai™ is a first of its kind Open Source software for Jacquard and dobby weaving.
• PM SVANidhi scheme: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), for providing affordable loans to street vendors. It incentivises digital transactions by the street vendors.

• The Digital India journey in the past 6 years has centered on empowerment, inclusion, and digital transformation. It has positively impacted all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens through Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer, Common Services Centres, DigiLocker and mobile-based UMANG services.
• Through Aadhaar, the Government has provided digital identity to 129 crore residents of the country with 99 per cent coverage of adult population.
• The combination of Jandhan bank Accounts, mobile phones and digital identity through Aadhaar is helping the poor in receiving the benefits directly into their bank accounts.
• Digital solutions also played a pivotal role   during Covid-19: Contact tracing app, Aarogya Setu.

What is Digital India?

• Digital India is a Rs 1,13,000-crore flagship programme of the Government of India (GoI) with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
• Since the mid-1990s, the e-governance initiatives in India took a broader dimension with an emphasis on citizen-centric services.
• Among the major focus of e-governance was railway computerization, land record computerization, etc, which then slowly percolated to the states to include other facets of governance within the digital purview.

NHP-Bhuvan Portal: The Secretary, Department of Space & Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan recently launched the NHP –Bhuvan portal of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

About NHP –Bhuvan Portal:

• The National Hydrology Project or NHP-Bhuvan Portal is a repository of information on the initiatives undertaken by NRSC under NHP (National Hydrology Project).
• The portal also has a facility to download the reports and knowledge products being developed by NRSC.
• National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Hyderabad as one of the Implementing Agency under the National Hydrology Project (NHP), is carrying out hydrological studies using satellite data and geospatial techniques.

About National Hydrology Project (NHP):

NHP is being taken up from Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India (GoI) with financial aid from World Bank.

The main objective of the project is to improve the extent and accessibility of water resources information and strengthen institutional capacity to enable improved water resources planning and management across India.

The mission is to establish an effective and sound hydrologic database and Hydrological Information System (HIS), together with the development of consistent and scientifically based tools and design aids to assist in the effective water resources planning and management within each to the implementing agencies based on sound scientific driven framework.

The project comprises four broad components:

• Improving In Situ Monitoring System (IMS)
• Improving Spatial Information System (SIS)
• Promoting Water Resources Operation and Management Applications (WROMA)
• Strengthening Water Resources Institutions and Capacity Building (WRICB).

People In News

APPOINTMENTS:

Atul Keshap: The Joe Biden administration in the US has recently appointed Indian-American career diplomat Atul Keshap, an old India-hand at the state department, as the country's Charge'd Affairs  (CDA) in Delhi.

Highlights:

• Mr Keshap, 50, will replace  Daniel Smith, who is retiring.
• The US State Department said in a statement that Ambassador Keshap's appointment will reinforce the close US partnership with the Government and people of India, demonstrated by our collaboration to overcome global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic

About:

• Mr. Keshap was formerly the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• He played a key role in developing the U.S.-Maldives defence relationship.
• The two countries signed on to a framework for their security relationship last September.
• He also served as Deputy Assistance Secretary for South Asia and was posted previously to the American Embassy in New Delhi.

Manesh Mahatme: He is a former Amazon executive Manesh Mahatme who has been appointed as the director to lead the growth of its payments business in India by Whatsapp.

As Director, WhatsApp Payments-India, Mahatme will focus on enhancing the payments experience for users, scaling the service and work towards contributing to the messaging app’s vision of digital and financial inclusion in India.

About WhatsApp:

• WhatsApp Messenger, or simply WhatsApp, is an American freeware, cross-platform centralized messaging and voice-over-IP service owned by Facebook, Inc.
• It allows users to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.
• It was founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
• It is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, United States.
• The WhatsApp Parent organization is Facebook.
• The client application was created by WhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California, which was acquired by Facebook on 19 February 2014.

AWARDS:

The Order of Polar Star: RK Sabharwal who is the Engineers Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of India Limited (EIL) has been honoured with the highest civilian award of Mongolia ‘The Order of Polar Star by his Excellency.

Highlights:

• Sabharwal was bestowed with the honour by His Excellency, the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh for an outstanding contribution towards the establishment of the first-ever oil refinery in Mongolia.
• ‘The Order of Polar Star’ was presented to him, on behalf of the government of Mongolia, by His Excellency, the Ambassador of Mongolia to India, Mr. Gonching Ganbold.
• He was conferred the prestigious award at a ceremony which was organized at the Embassy of Mongolia, India.

About the award:

• The ‘Order of Polar Star’ is the most desirable and prestigious state award bestowed by the President of Mongolia.
• It is highly valuable and distinguished and recognizes individuals who have made an invaluable contribution with their outstanding hard work, intelligence and sincerity to the prosperity of Mongolia and its friendship with other nations.
• This award is also given for outstanding contributions in the fields of arts, culture, science and humanity.

About The establishment of an oil refinery in Mongolia:

• In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia, had announced an extension of a line of credit worth USD 1 billion by the Indian Government to Mongolia to expand its economic capacity and infrastructure, as they decided to upgrade their relationship from Comprehensive to “Strategic Partnership”.
• After several discussions, the Government of Mongolia decided to utilize this line of credit towards setting up of the first Oil Refinery of Mongolia.
• The project has been the harbinger of the economic and energy independence of the country and has ensured its sustained growth and development.

Role of EIL in Mongolia:

• After the continuous efforts, Engineers India Limited (EIL), a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was able to secure the contract for providing the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services for the 1.5 MMTPA Grassroot refinery project.
• EIL is providing project management consultancy services for this refinery project.
• On completion of the project, it will meet about three-fourth of Mongolian requirement of oil.
• The refinery is expected to be completed by 2022.
• Currently, the work on the oil refinery has been progressing well and while creating job opportunities in Mongolia, it also provides great opportunities to the Indian Industry to provide its goods and services to the refinery.

About Mongolia:

• Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia.
• It is a nation bordered by China and Russia.
• Its capital is Ulaanbaatar which centers around Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) Square, named for the notorious founder of the 13th- and 14th-century Mongol Empire.
• The currency used here is Mongolian Togrog.
• The current President of Mongolia is Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.

Fukuoka Grand Prize: Noted journalist, P. Sainath has been awarded the Fukuoka Grand Prize.

Besides the Grand Prize, there are two more award categories, academics and culture.

Fukuoka Award 2021 will be held online on September 29, 2021.

Key Details:

• The ‘Grand Prize’ of Fukuoka Prize will be given to Sainath.

Secretariat of Fukuoka Prize Committee described P. Sainath as “very deserving recipient of Grand Prize of Fukuoka Prize”.

He will be awarded for his work of creating a new form of knowledge through his writings & commentaries on rural India and for promoting civil cooperation.

• The Academics Prize will be given to Professor Kishimoto Mio, a historian from Japan who specialises in the socio-economic history of China in the Ming-Qing period.
• Prize for Arts & Culture will be given Thailand-based writer and filmmaker Prabda Yoon for an increased understanding of Japan in Thailand and for pursuing a deeper philosophical insight into the future of humanity.

About Fukuoka Prize:

• It is an award established in 1990 by the city of Fukuoka in Japan and Fukuoka City International Foundation.
• It is given to honor work of individuals or organizations in preserving & creating Asian culture. Fukuoka prize has three following prize categories:-

1. Grand Prize
2. Academic Prize
3. Arts & Culture Prize

• Fukuoka has organized Asia-Pacific Exposition with the concept of interaction between Asia-Pacific regions in 1989.
• This prize was inaugurated in 1990 to carry on spirit of Expo.
• Prizes are given annually to distinguished people for fostering & increasing awareness of Asian cultures.

Recepients of the Grand Prize:

• Grand Prize has been awarded to Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh, historian Romila Thapar and sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan.
• So far, eleven Indians have received Fukuoka Prize. About 115 people from 28 countries and areas have received Prize in past 30 years.

About Palagummi Sainath:

• He is an Indian journalist born in Chennai and he has been an editor of The Hindu and the vice-editor of political magazine Blitz.
• He is the author of book called “Everybody Loves a Good Drought”. It is a collection of 85 articles, published under a series ‘The Face of Poor India’.
• He has been actively campaigning over famer’s issues and backed Samyukta Ekta Morcha that leads farmers’ agitations in India.
• He founded People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) in 2014 which is an online platform focussing on social & economic inequality, poverty, rural affairs, poverty and aftermath of globalization in India.

Awards:

• Sainath was awarded the European Commission’s Lorenzo Natali Prize for journalism in 1995 and the Amnesty International Global Rights Journalism Prize in 2000.
• He has also received the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Boerma Prize in 2001. 
• He was awarded with Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2007 because he believes “journalism is for people, not for shareholders”.

Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar: Odia poet Dr. Rajendra Kishore Panda has recently been selected for the Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar (award) 2020.

• The name of Dr. Panda was finalised by a three-member committee comprising Kannada poet Dr. H.S. Shivaprakash, Agrahara Krishnamurthy, former secretary of Central Sahitya Academy, and Bengali author Shyamal Bhattacharya.
• The committee met under the chairmanship of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah and chose Dr. Panda for the award.

About Dr. Rajendra Kishore Panda

• Dr. Panda, born in 1944, is a poet and novelist from Odisha.
• He has published 16 poetry collections and a novel.
• He is a major Indian poet who steered the path of modern Odia poetry to great heights.
• He was presented the Gangadhar National Award in 2010, and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985.
• He was awarded a DLitt by Sambalpur University.

About Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar:

• It is a national award instituted in memory of the late poet laureate Kuvempu.
• The award is given annually to a writer who has contributed in any of the languages recognised by the Constitution of India.
• The award carries a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh, a silver medal and a citation.

About Kuvempu:

• Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa was popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu.
• He was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic.
• He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century.
• He was the first Kannada writer to be decorated with the Jnanpith Award for his version of the Ramayana titled ‘Sri Ramayana Darshanam.’

About Jnanpith Award:

• The Jnanpith award is the highest literary award in India.
• This award is conferred annually only to an Indian citizen.
• English along with other languages mentioned in Indian Constitution (8th Schedule) is considered for the Award.
• The prize carries a cash award of Rs. 11 lakhs, a citation, and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati), the goddess of learning.
• It is sponsored by the cultural organization Bharatiya Jnanpith.

Places In News

JSCE 'Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award: The Delhi Metro's Phase I, II and III projects have been awarded the prestigious Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) 'Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award' for the year 2020.

Highlights:

• This award is given to highly selective showcasing projects in the development of civil engineering technology across the world.
• The JSCE termed the Delhi Metro's project as 'High-Quality Infrastructure Development Project.
• The Delhi Metro was awarded because its projects have brought awareness of safety and efficiency at construction sites in India and provided residents with safe, secure and comfortable transportation.
• The Delhi Metro's civil engineering achievements in the past two decades have received global recognition and have been appreciated by prominent international organizations.

JICA and Delhi Metro:

• The JICA has supported Delhi Metro's all phases including the ongoing Phase -IV project by providing not only smoothest financial support but with excellent value-added activities such as knowledge assistance by introducing Japanese innovative technologies and mindset of safety and innovation, unique work culture, technical cooperation and capacity building of DMRC.
• The magnanimous support from Japan, JICA including India Office has helped Delhi Metro in becoming a Shining Example globally in the field of urban mass transit.

About JICA:

• The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan.
• It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation.
• It was founded on October 1, 2003.
• It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.

Darbar Move Tradition: The Jammu and Kashmir administration recently cancelled residential accommodations of government officials as part of ending the age-old practice of 'darbar move'.

Key Points:

Days after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had announced an end to the 149-year-old practice of 'darbar move', the Jammu and Kashmir administration virtually put an end to the 149-year-old darbar move tradition.

The officials are to vacate their government-allotted residential accommodation in the twin capital cities within 21 days.

What ushered the end of the century-old move?

• Under the J&K government’s able administration, government offices have revolutionized and completely transitioned into an e-office.
• This is another feather to the prime minister’s vision of a digital India.
• This will save the government Rs 200 crore per year, which will be used for the welfare of the deprived sections

History of Darbar Move:

• The genesis of the darbar move dates back to more than 400 years ago, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
• For his love of mountains and valleys, and to evade the scorching heat of Lahore, Jahangir used to visit Kashmir, during the summer months, every year.
• Thus, every year, the darbar used to temporarily move to Kashmir, virtually making it the summer capital of the Mughal Empire.
• The practice was subsequently followed by the British and Dogra rulers.
• The practice of darbar move has been a part of the Jammu and Kashmir administration since 1872 when it was introduced by Maharaja Gulab Singh.

What is the darbar move?

• The darbar move is thus a practice in which the government shifts capital for a brief period, each in the two capitals of the State.
• For the union territory of J&K, Srinagar is the summer capital and Jammu is the winter capital.
• The employees from Jammu were allotted residential accommodation in Srinagar and those from Srinagar in Jammu.
• The Raj Bhavan, the civil secretariat and other major offices used to be shifted to the twin cities in phases, which used to cost the exchequer close to Rs 200 crore.

About Jammu and Kashmir:

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is a region administered by India as a Union Territory.
• It was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1954 to 2019.
• Provisions for the formation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir were contained within the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, which was passed by both houses of the Parliament of India in August 2019.
• It lies to the north of the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and to the west of Ladakh, which is also subject to the dispute as a part of Kashmir, and administered by India as a union territory.
• The current Lieutenant Governor of J&K is Former Union minister and BJP leader Manoj Sinha

Smart Cities Awards 2020: The Central government has recently declared the Smart City awards 2020.

Highlights:

• Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Surat (Gujarat) won the award jointly for their overall development.
• Whereas, Uttar Pradesh emerged on the top among all states, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under the Smart City award, 2020.
• The Smart City awards were given across the themes of Social Aspects, Governance, Culture, Urban Environment, Sanitation, Economy, Built Environment, Water, Urban Mobility.
• According to the Centre, of the total, proposed projects under the Smart Cities Mission, 5,924 projects (115% by number) worth ₹1,78,500 crore have been tendered so far. Whereas work orders have been issued for 5,236 projects (101% by number) worth ₹1,46,125 crore.

List of winning Smart Cities under the different categories:

1. Social Aspects

• Tirupati: Health Benchmark for Municipal Schools
• Bhubaneshwar: Socially Smart Bhubaneswar
• Tumakuru: Digital Library Solution

2. Governance

• Vadodara: GIS
• Thane: Digi Thane
• Bhubaneswar: ME app

3. Culture

• Indore: Conservation of Heritage
• Chandigarh: Capitol Complex, Heritage Project
• Gwalior: Digital Museum

4. Urban Environment

• Bhopal: Clean energy
• Chennai: Restoration of water bodies
• Tirupati: Renewable Energy Generation

5. Sanitation

• Tirupati: Bioremediation & Bio-Mining
• Indore: Municipal Waste Management System
• Surat: Conservation through Treated Wastewater

6. Economy

• Indore: Carbon Credit Financing Mechanism
• Tirupati: Boost Local Identity & Economy through Design Studio
• Agra: Micro Skill Development Centre

7. Built Environment

• Indore: Chappan Dukan
• Surat: Canal Corridor

8. Water

• Dehradun: Smart Water Metering Water ATM
• Varanasi: Eco-Restoration of Assi River
• Surat: Integrated and Sustainable Water Supply System

9. Urban Mobility

• Aurangabad: Majhi Smart Buses
• Surat: Dynamic Scheduling Buses
• Ahmedabad: Man-less parking system and automatic ticket dispensing machines AMDA Park

10. Innovative Idea Award

• Indore: Carbon Credit Financing Mechanism
• Chandigarh: For Union Territories

11. Covid Innovation Award

• Kalyan-Dombivali and Varanasi

Other Awards in different categories:

• Surat, Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Vijayawada, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Vadodara were awarded 4-star rating under Climate-Smart Cities Assessment Framework.
• According to the ministry, Ahmedabad bagged the ‘Smart Cities Leadership Award’, followed by Varanasi and Ranchi in the second and third spots respectively.

Japanese-style Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) premises in Ahmedabad, Gujarat recently.

Highlights:

• These two new initiatives are part of PM’s vision of creating a ‘Mini-Japan’ in Gujarat.

 

• The newly launched Zen Garden in Ahmedabad will showcase several elements of Japanese art, culture, landscape and architecture.

About:

• The Zen garden features a statue of Lord Buddha.
• The garden is built in partnership with the Japan Information and Study Centre at AMA and Indo-Japan Friendship Association (IJFA), Gujarat, supported by the Hyogo International Association (HIA), Japan.

About Ahemadabad:

• Ahmedabad, in western India, is the largest city in the state of Gujarat.
• The Sabarmati River runs through its center.
• On the western bank is the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati.
• This city has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India.
• It is the second-largest producer of cotton in India, due to which it was known as the 'Manchester of India' along with Kanpur.

About Gujarat:

• Gujarat is a state on the western coast of India most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula.
• The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west.
• Its capital city is Gandhinagar.
• The Governor and Chief Minister of Gujarat are Acharya Devvrat and Vijay Rupani respectively.

National Horticulture Board (NHB): Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Food Processing Industries, Narendra Singh Tomar recently inaugurated the National Horticulture Board Centre at Gwalior in the state of Madhya Pradesh (MP).

Highlights:

• The Government has created an Agricultural Infrastructure Fund of One Lakh Crore.
• Any farmer can apply online by creating his own project to seek help.
• The government reviews every week to provide financial assistance to the farmers' projects received online.
• The Government of India will spend Rs.6,550 crore through FPO (Agricultural Production Organisation). This will revolutionize the lives of farmers."

Key Points:

• NHB is mandated for integrated development of hi-tech commercial horticulture and post-harvest management/cold chain infrastructure in the country.
• It is having centers/offices at various locations of the country and atleast one centre is there almost in each state for implementation, monitoring and coordination of its various Schemes and activities.
• Some of the bigger states like UP and Maharashtra are having more than one centre due to their geography and higher quantum of work.

Significance for Madhya Pradesh:

• Madhya Pradesh, which is the second largest state in the Country, is rapidly diversifying into horticulture sector for the last few years.
• It is the third largest producers of vegetables in the country and 5th largest producers in Fruits.
• Gwalior Division of Madhya Pradesh is geographically located in Northern part of the State. Gwalior and Chambal divisions correspond to the Gird region of Madhya Pradesh.
• With the opening of new Centre of NHB at Gwalior, farmers from 21 districts of Northern Madhya Pradesh including Grid region of Gwalior and Chambal will be benefited under the Schemes of National Horticulture Board.

About MP:

• Madhya Pradesh (MP) is the second largest Indian state by area.
• It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest.
• Its capital is Bhopal.
• The current Chief Minister and Governor of Madhya Pradesh is Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Anandiben Patel respectively.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP): Russia has started the construction of fifth nuclear power unit at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu on June 29, 2021.

About KKNPP:

• This nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power of India.
• It is located in Kudankulam town in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
• Construction of the plant which started on March 31, 2002 faced several delays because of opposition from local fishermen.
• KKNPP is scheduled to have six VVER-1000 reactors.
• All these reactors have been built or is being built in collaboration with Russian state company and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Reactors have the installed capacity of 6,000 MW of electricity.
• Unit one was made operation and synchronised with southern power grid in October 2013.
• It has been generating electricity up to 1,000 MW. Unit two was synchronised with electricity grid on August 29, 2016.
• Units three & four were inaugurated on February 17, 2016.
• Now, construction of Unit five & six will start.

Tamil Nadu:

• It is located in the extreme south of the subcontinent.
• It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the east and south and by the states of Kerala to the west, Karnataka (formerly Mysore) to the northwest, and Andhra Pradesh to the north. 
• It was formerly the Madras Presidency of British India but was renamed Madras (State) after independence in 1947. Madras (State) was again renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968.
• Its Capital is Chennai.
• The Governor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu are Banwarilal Purohit and M. K. Stalin respectively.

Andhra launches IT policy for 2021-24: The Andhra Pradesh government recently came out with the new ‘AP Information Technology Policy 2021-24’ that is expected to generate more than 55,000 jobs over the next three years.

Key Details:

• This new policy was approved by State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
• This policy is expected to generate more than 55,000 jobs in next three years.
• It will also create 1.65 lakh indirect employment and ensure a holistic ecosystem development.
• For this purpose, a robust and holistic business environment would be created.
• IT, Electronics and Communications Department would also be transformed into revenue centre in a bid to achieve self-sustenance.
• The policy would be in force till March 31, 2024.

How it will be implemented?

• Under the policy, AP government will establish incubation centers and organise hackathons & workshops for startups.
• The Government will also establish an IT Emerging Technologies Research University in Visakhapatnam in order to develop State as leading contributor to national talent pool in IT & other emerging technologies.

Key provisions of new IT Policy:

• New IT Policy links the incentive disbursement to realization of committed direct employment which ensures transparent & effective utilization of public funds.
• It offers end-to-end support for start-ups like plug & play office space, access to investors, & mentors, funds through venture capitals and private equity firms.

State’s Revenue:

• Andhra Pradesh will earn revenue of Rs 783 crore in 10 years in the form of various taxes through this policy.
• Direct employment is also expected to infuse over Rs 2,200 crore year.
• It will thus lead to overall growth of economy through multiplier effect.

About Andhra Pradesh (AP):

• Andhra Pradesh (AP) is situated in the south-eastern part of India.
• It came into existence in its present form in 1956 as a result of the demand of the Andhras for a separate state.
• Capitals are Visakhapatnam (executive capital), Kurnool (judicial capital, Amaravati (legislative capital).
• The current Governor and the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh is Biswabhusan Harichandan and Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy respectively.

Science and Technology

Dragon Man: Researchers from China have recently claimed that they have found a massive fossilized ancient human skull that could belong to an altogether new species of humans.

The researchers have published their findings in the journal ‘The Innovation’.

One of the UK's leading experts in human evolution, Prof Chris Stringer from London's Natural History Museum, was also a member of the research team.

Key Details:

The researchers note that the cranium (the portion that encloses the brain) could be over 146,000 years old.

The skull was found in the Songhua River in north-east China’s Harbin city.

The cranium has been dubbed the “Dragon Man” or Homo longi, a name that has been derived from the Long Jiang or Dragon River in the Heilongjiang province of China where the city of Harbin is located.

Some members of the team have suggested that it be declared a part of a new species of the genus Homo because of the distinctive shape of the skull, which was found almost complete.

Nesher Ramla Homo:

Separate news came recently where the researchers working in Israel where they also identified a previously unknown type of ancient human that lived alongside our species more than 100,000 years ago.

The scientists named the newly discovered lineage the "Nesher Ramla Homo" that co-existed with Homo sapiens nearly 100,000 years ago when several species of humans co-existed in Asia, Europe and Africa.

These include Homo sapiens, the Neanderthals, and the Denisovans.

About Human Species:

Modern humans are the only human species that exist in the world today. 

As per the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, there are over 21 human species. These are:

1. Sahelanthropus tchadensis is believed to be the oldest member of the human family tree. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, this species lived about 7-6 million years ago somewhere around present day Chad in Africa. Researchers only have cranial material as evidence that this species existed, from which they have deciphered that it had both ape-like and human-like features and was bipedalled, an ability that may have increased its chances of survival.
2. Orrorin tugenensis lived about 6.2-5.8 million years ago in Eastern Africa. As per the Smithsonian Museum, this species is the oldest early human on the family tree and members from this species were approximately the size of a chimpanzee.
3. Ardipithecus kadabba lived 5.8-5.2 million years ago, in Eastern Africa. They were bipedalled, and are believed to have had a body size similar to that of modern chimpanzees.
4. Ardipithecus ramidus lived about 4.4 million years ago in Eastern Africa, and was first reported in 1994. It is not clear if this species was bipedalled.
5. Australopithecus anamensis lived about 4.2-3.8 million years ago. A skull belonging to this species was discovered in Ethiopia in 2016 at a palaeontological site. Two studies published in 2019 analysed this skull and determined that it was older than Lucy, the name for another specimen belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis, which was previously thought to be the oldest ancestor of modern humans. The new research also indicated that the two species (Lucy and her ancestors) co-existed for at least 100,000 years.
6. Australopithecus afarensis (members from Lucy’s species) existed 3.85-2.95 million years ago in Africa. Paleontologists have discovered remains from over 300 individuals belonging to this species over the years.
7. Kenyanthropus platyops lived about 3.5 million years ago in Kenya. The Smithsonian Museum notes that the species inhabited Africa at the same time as Lucy’s species did, which could mean that there is a closer branch to modern humans than Lucy’s on the evolutionary tree.
8. Australopithecus africanus lived about 3.3-2.1 million years ago in Southern Africa. This species had a combination of human and ape-like features.
9. Paranthropus aethiopicus lived about 2.7-2.3 million years ago in Eastern Africa and members of this species are defined by their strongly protruding face, large teeth, and a powerful jaw.
10. Australopithecus garhi lived about 2.5 million years ago in Eastern Africa, and is characterised by their long, powerful arms. The Smithsonian museum notes that the arms could mean the longer strides needed during bipedal walking.
11. Paranthropus boisei lived about 2.3-1.2 million years ago in Eastern Africa, and were characterised by a skull that was specialized for heavy chewing.
12. Paranthropus robustus lived about 1.8-1.2 million years ago in Southern Africa and were characterised by their wide, deep-dished faces.
13. Australopithecus sediba lived about 1.9 million years ago in Southern Africa. Members of this species had facial features similar to the later specimens of Homo.
14. Homo habilis lived about 2.4-1.4 million years ago in Eastern and Southern Africa, and is one of the earliest members of the genus Homo. Members of this species still retained some of the ape-like features, however.
15. Homo erectus lived about 1.89 million-110,000 years ago, in Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa and Western and East Asia. ‘Turkana Boy’ is the most complete fossil belonging to this species and is dated to be around 1.6 million years old.
16. Homo floresiensis lived around 100,000-50,000 years ago, in Asia. One of the most recently discovered early human species has been nicknamed the “Hobbit”. Specimens have so far only been found on an Indonesian island.
17. Homo heidelbergensis lived about 700,000-200,000 years ago in Europe, some parts of Asia and Africa. As per the Smithsonian museum, this was the first early human species to live in colder climes.
18. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) are believed to be the closest extinct human relatives and lived about 400,000-40,000 years ago in Europe and southwestern to central Asia.
19. Homo sapiens, the species to which all existing humans belong, evolved in Africa nearly 300,000 years ago as a result of some dramatic climate change events.

International Asteroid Day 2021: International Asteroid Day or Asteroid Day is observed on 30th June every year across the globe.

Highlights:

• The Day aims to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat.
• This year Asteroid Day celebrates the 25th launch anniversary of NASA's NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft, and the 2021 launch of three new asteroid missions, NASA’s Lucy, NEA Scout, and DART.
• These are the world's first missions to test an asteroid deflection technique and much more.

Background:

• On December 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/71/90 and declared June 30 as International Asteroid Day.
• The day marks the anniversary of Earth's most massive asteroid impact in history, the 1908 Tunguska event.
• Note: On June 30th, 1908, a mysterious cosmic impact occurred in Siberia. Tunguska explosion was the most harmful recorded asteroid-related event on Earth as it damaged local plants and animals.
• The decision by UNGA was made on the basis of a proposal made by the Association of Space Explorers, which was endorsed by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
• Asteroid Day was co-founded by Stephen Hawking, filmmaker Grigorij Richters, B612 Foundation President, Danica Remy, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart and Brian May, Queen guitarist and astrophysicist.

Significance of International Asteroid Day:

• United Nations officially decided this day for global awareness about the opportunities and challenges that asteroids present.
• It also tells about the devastating impact an asteroid has when it crashes to Earth.
• It also highlights the importance of discovering the objects that pose a threat to our planet and make people aware of what to do if such a situation arises.

What are Asteroids?

• Asteroids are the small rocky body that orbits around the sun consisting of rock, metals, and other elements.
• They are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.
• They are sometimes called minor planets.
• Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across.
• The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth's Moon.
• Some asteroids even have a companion moon.
• Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt.
• Scientists refer to this area as the asteroid belt. There are three classes of asteroids. They are as follows:

1. C-type (chondrite) – This most common type of asteroid consists of clay and silicate rocks.
2. S-type (stony) – This asteroid consists of silicate rocks and nickel-iron.
3. M-type (metallic) – Nickel-iron composes these asteroids.

Impact of Asteroid collision:

• The impact of asteroid collision with Earth would be very disastrous.
• The collision would cause environmental impacts, such as shock waves, heat radiation, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
• The currently known asteroid count is 958,915.

Louisiana Delta System: NASA Scientists and scientists from other universities from Boston to California decided to create computer models to protect the delta system.

Key Points:

1. NASA is using high-tech airborne systems comprising of boats and mud-slogging work on islands at the cost of $15 million.
2. They are aiming to create computer models which can be used with satellite data to learn which parts of their dwindling deltas can be shored up and which deltas are past hope.
3. Scientists felt the need to create computer models because in the backdrop of erosion, sinking land and sea rise due to climate change have killed Louisiana woods near the Mississippi River delta system.
4. NASA is using high-tech airborne systems comprising of boats and mud-slogging work on islands at the cost of $15 million.

About Louisiana:

1. It is a state in south-central regions of United States.
2. It is 19th-smallest by area and 25th most populous among 50 U.S. states.
3. It shares its border with state of Texas in west, Arkansas in north, Mississippi in east, and Gulf of Mexico in south.
4. Its eastern boundary is demarcated by Mississippi River.
5. It is the only state in U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes.
6. It, along with Alaska, are two U.S. states which are not subdivided into counties.
7. Baton Rouge is its capital while New Orleans is its largest city.

About Mississippi River:

1. It is the second-longest river in North American continent after the Hudson Bay drainage system.
2. Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota is the source of river.
3. It flows generally south for 2,320 miles to form Mississippi River Delta in Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi’s watershed drains about 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
4. Main stem of the river is entirely within United States.
5. It is the fourteenth-largest river by discharge worldwide.

Triboelectric Nanogenerator(TENG): A team of Indian scientists have developed a transparent Triboelectric Nanogenerator(TENG) device.

Highlights:

1. Dr Shankar Rao and his team from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, Bengaluru, an autonomous institute under the department of science and technology, Government of India (GoI), have designed the TENG.
2. The results were published in the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

About Triboelectric Nanogenerator(TENG):

1. TENG was developed using thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) either in the form of electrospun nanofibers or as a flat film using the simpler doctor’s blade technique, along with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as tribo layers.

Note: Doctor’s blade technique is one of the widely used techniques for producing thin films on large area surfaces. 

1. TENG is a self-powered device that makes use of mechanical energy in the form of vibrations present everywhere in different forms to generate electricity.
2. It is capable of generating electricity from vibrations all around for use in optoelectronics, self-powered devices, and other biomedical applications
3. TENG uses mechanical energy in the form of vibrations present everywhere in different forms to generate electricity.
4. It works on the principle of creation of electrostatic charges via instantaneous physical contact of two dissimilar materials followed by generation of potential difference when a mismatch is introduced between the two contacted surfaces through a mechanical force. 
5. This mechanism drives the electrons to move back and forth between the conducting films coated on the back of the tribo layers.

Significance:

1. The device could light up 11 LEDs by gentle hand tapping and could be a potential candidate for use in optoelectronics, self-powered devices and other biomedical applications.

Note: Optoelectronics is the field of technology concerned with electronic device application to the sourcing, detection and control of light.

1. This technique is cost effective compared to currently available fabrication techniques being easily available, and owing to the simplicity of the procedure.
2. The resulting device is also highly efficient, robust, and gives reproducible output over long hours of operation.

 Icius Tukarami: A group of scientists recently discovered two new species of jumping spiders from the Thane-Kalyan region.

Key Points:

• One of the newly discovered spider specie has been named Icius Tukarami after assistant sub-inspector Tukaram Omble who laid down his life to help capture terrorist Ajmal Kasab during the 26/11 terror attacks.
• The second new species of jumping spider is Phintella cholkei in the memory of a friend Kamlesh Cholke.
• The paper citing the discovery of the new species was published in the Russian science journal Anthropoda Selecta.
• It was published by researchers Dhruv A. Prajapati, John Caleb, Somnath B. Kumbhar and Rajesh Sanap.

About Tukaram Omble:

• Tukaram Omble was a Mumbai police officer and army soldier, who served as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Mumbai Police.
• He was martyred in action while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai attacks at Girgaum Chowpatty Mumbai.
• He played an instrumental role in apprehending Ajmal Kasab alive, the lone surviving terrorist who was later convicted and hanged.
• The martyred police officer was posthumously honoured by the Indian government with the Ashoka Chakra on January 26, 2009.

 Note:The Ashoka Chakra is the nation's highest peace-time gallantry award for extraordinary bravery and valour in the line of duty.

• Former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria wrote in his memoir that Omble's actions that led to Kasab's capture were key to foiling Lashkar-e-Taiba's plans.

Sports

SPORTS:

Archery World Cup: Olympic-bound archer Deepika Kumari helped India claim three recurve gold medals in the Archery World Cup Stage-3 here on 27 June 2021.

Highlights:

• Deepika blanked Russia's Elena Osipova 6-0 in the final of the women's individual recurve event to complete a hat-trick of gold medals in one day.
• The Indian women's recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari notched up the gold medal with a comfortable win over Mexico.
• This was their second successive gold medal in the World Cup this year, and sixth overall (Shanghai-2011, Medellin-2013, Wroclaw-2013, Wroclaw-2014, Guatemala City-2o21).
• Deepika then combined with her husband Atanu Das to bag the mixed team crown.
• The Indian couple fought back to beat the Dutch duo of Gabriela Schloesser and Sjef van der Berg, the winner of the previous World Cup in Laussane, 5-3 in the summit clash.

Additional Info:

After securing a hat-trick of gold medals at the Archery World Cup stage 3 in Paris, Deepika Kumari has become the top-ranked archer among women when the new rankings are announced.

About Deepika Kumari:

Deepika Kumari Mahato is an Indian athlete who competes in the event of archery and is currently ranked World No. 1.

She won a gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth games in the women's individual recurve event and also a gold medal in the women's team recurve event.

She also won a record 3 gold medals at the 2021 Paris World Cup.

She was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2016.

Abhishek Verma: Star Indian archer Abhishek Verma created history by becoming the first man to win two World Cup gold medals in individual compound archery.

• He won his first individual World Cup gold at the Archery World Cup Stage three in Paris on June 26, 2021.
• He beat USA’s Kris Schaff in a shoot-off to win the gold medal.
• He had previously won gold at the individual event in Wroclaw in 2015 and also a silver in 2018.
• He also has won two medals at World Cup Finals, a silver in 2015 and bronze in 2018.

Styrian Grand Prix: Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Styrian Grand Prix by a massive margin on Sunday (Jun 27) to take an ominous 18 point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One championship battle after eight races.

Highlights:

• Verstappen led from start to finish at Austria's Red Bull Ring, with seven-times world champion Hamilton second for Mercedes.
• The Briton was 35.743 seconds behind at the chequered flag after a late stop for fresh tyres to bag a bonus point for fastest lap.
• It was the first time since 2013 that mighty Mercedes, champions for the past seven years, had gone four races in a row without a win and the first time since then that Red Bull had celebrated four successive victories.
• Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, just holding off Verstappen's Mexican team mate Sergio Perez who had fresher tyres after making a second stop in a bid for fastest lap.

Sydney McLaughlin: Sydney McLaughlin broke the women's 400 metres hurdles world record with a time of 51.90 seconds in the final of the U.S. Olympic athletics trials recently.

The 21-year-old booked her spot at the Tokyo Games, seized the lead around the final bend and into the home stretch to power home.

She beat Rio Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad's previous mark of 52.16.

Abhimanyu Mishra: Indian-American prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra has recently become the youngest-ever chess Grandmaster after scoring his third GM norm in Budapest, Hungary.

Highlights:

• The 12-year-old hails from New Jersey, USA became a GM from International Master, by crossing the required 2500 Elo rating barrier, as per chess.com.
• At 12 years, four months and 25 days, He broke GM Sergey Karjakin’s record which was there for 19 years.

• On August 12, 2002, Karjakin, became Grandmaster at 12 years and seven months.
• Born on February 5, 2009, in New Jersey, Mishra was taught the moves of chess when he was still a toddler.
• 
  By the time he was 10 years and nine months, he was the youngest International Master (IM) in chess history.
• Until then Indian GM R. Praggnanandhaa held the distinction of being the youngest IM ever at 10 years and 10 months.
• 
  Praggnanandhaa had also narrowly missed becoming the youngest GM in history, when he won his third norm in June 2018, at the age of 12 years 10 months.
• The following year another Indian GM, Gukesh D. missed becoming the youngest ever GM by 17 days.

WAKO India Kickboxing Federation: The Ministry of Youth affairs & Sports has decided to grant recognition to WAKO India Kickboxing Federation as National Sports Federation (NSF) to promote and develop sport in India.

Key Details:

• WAKO India Kickboxing Federation is affiliated to World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) which is a world body for kickboxing.
• Since November 30, 2020, WAKO has been a provisionally recognized member of International Olympic Committee (IOC).
• Recommendation to approve WAKO as fully recognised member of Olympic family was taken by IOC in June 2020.
• International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has approved recommendation for WAKO on June 10, 2021 to become a fully recognized member of Olympic family of sport.
• The full recognition of WAKO will be finally decided by the IOC Session in Tokyo in July 2021.

Importance of this recognition:

• To be fully included and accepted in the Olympic movement is important for the recognition and development of the sport of kickboxing.
• With government recognition of WAKO India Kickboxing Federation as NSF, the sport of kickboxing will develop at a faster pace in India.

About Kickboxing:

• Kickboxing is a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching.
• It was historically developed from karate mixed with boxing.
• Kickboxing is practiced for self-defence, general fitness, or as a contact sport.
• Japanese kickboxing originated in the late 1950s, with competitions held since then.
• American kickboxing originated in the 1970s and was brought to prominence in September 1974, when the Professional Karate Association (PKA) held the first World Championships.
• Historically, kickboxing can be considered a hybrid martial art formed from the combination of elements of various traditional styles.

Kickboxing Governing Bodies:

There is no single international governing body.

International governing bodies include the following:

• World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (also known as WAKO),
• World Kickboxing Association,
• International Sport Karate Association,
• International Kickboxing Federation, and
• World Kickboxing Network, among others.

About WAKO:

• World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) is an international organization of kickboxing.
• It certifies the governing body of amateur kickboxing to develop support & govern amateur level and hold world championship events.
• It sanctions the champions of kickboxing.
• WAKO is the only organization across the world which is recognized by GAISF (Global Association of Sports Federations) and IOC (International Olympic Committee).

  About IAKO:

• Indian Association of Kickboxing Organizations (IAKO) is the national federation of kickboxing in India.
• It was established in 1993 to control and promote kickboxing activities in India.
• It promotes amateur kickboxing and professional kickboxing across the states, union territories and special armed force.
• IAKO is the first martial arts federation which has been recognized by School Games Federation of India.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo has become the joint-top scoring men’s international player of all time.

Highlights:

He achieved the feat in Portugal's Euro 2020 game against France on Wednesday (local time) here at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

He is currently tied with Iran legend Ali Daei, who scored 109 times in 149 matches between 1993 and 2006.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to tie the overall men’s scoring record with 109 goals in 176 matches and Portugal advanced to the round of 16 at the European Championship after a 2-2 draw with France.

ISSF World Cup Shooting: Asian Games champion and Tokyo Olympics-bound Rahi Sarnobat recently won Gold at ISSF World Cup shooting.

The ISSF World Cup 2021 is being held in Osijek, Croatia.

Highlights:

• India’s Rahi Sarnobat clinched the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF shooting World Cup.
• She is the first Indian to win one silver and two bronze medals in the ongoing tournament.
• She scored 591 out of a maximum of 600 in the qualifying stage.
• France’s Mathilde Lamolle won a silver medal in the final.
• Russian Vitalina Batsarashkina won the bronze medal. Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finished at 7 positions.
• This is the last competition before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Shafali Verma: Opener Shafali Verma has become the youngest Indian cricketer to make a debut in all formats, when India took on England in the first ODI in Bristol.

Highlights:

• She took 17 years and 150 days to make her debut in all formats.
• She has become the fifth-youngest cricketer overall in the list of all format debuts.
• The list topped by Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman at 17 years and 78 days is the youngest player to play all formats.
• He is followed by former England wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor.
• Australia’s Elysse Perry is third on the list, followed by Mohammad Amir.

National

PM-DevINE: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, recently approved a new Scheme called Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE).

Key Points:

• The new Scheme, PM-DevINE, will be implemented for the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• PM-DevINE, is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central funding and will be implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through North Eastern Council or Central Ministries/ agencies.
• To limit construction risks of time and cost overrun, Government projects will, to the greatest extent practicable, be implemented on an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) basis.
• An amount of Rs.6,600 crore has been allotted by the central govt for the implementation of this scheme.
• The programme provides funding for physical and social development initiatives that will close development gaps in a number of Northeastern area industries.
• The current central and state programmes will not be substituted by the PM-DevINE programme.
• The new plan differs from the former MDoNER programmes already in place and used to develop the North Eastern Region.
• The average size of projects under other schemes is about Rs.12 crore while the PM-DevINE scheme aids infrastructure and social development projects that are larger in size.
• It will lead to creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.
• It will also provide end-to-end development solutions rather than focusing on just isolated projects.
• For 2022-23, the scheme will cover all projects that were introduced during recent Union Budget.
• Other projects that could have a significant socioeconomic impact or create opportunities for sustainable livelihood for the general public (such as providing basic infrastructure in all primary health care centres or comprehensive facilities in government primary and secondary schools, for example) might be taken into consideration in the future.
• To ensure that there are no committed obligations past this year, efforts will be made to finish the PM-DevINE projects by 2025–2026.
• This suggests that the Scheme's sanctions will be predominantly front-loaded in 2022–2023 and 2023–2024.
• While expenses would still be incurred in 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, there would be a focus on finishing the authorized PM–DevINE projects.

Objectives of PM-DevINE:

The objectives of PM-DevINE are -

• To fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
• To support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
• To enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
• To fill the development gaps in various sectors.

Background:

• PM-DevINE scheme was announced by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23 to remove the developmental gaps in the North Eastern Region (NER).
• It was announced to address the shortfalls in Basic Minimum Services (BMS) in the North Eastern Region.

Digital Banking Units (DBUs): Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dedicate 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) to the nation on 16th October 2022 through video conferencing.

Key Points:

• The DBUs will help Digital Banking to reach every corner of the country and will cover all states and Union Territory.
• 11 public sector banks, 12 private sector banks, and one small finance bank are participating in the endeavor.

Objectives:

• The DBUs have been set up with the objective to ensure that benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country.
• It will provide a variety of digital banking facilities to people such as -

• Opening of savings account,
• Balance check,
• Print a passbook,
• Transfer of funds,
• Investing in fixed deposits,
• Loan applications,
• Applying for credit and debit cards,
• Pay taxes and bills.

• The DBUs will empower digital services and provide a robust digital banking infrastructure for the country which in turn will improve banking and financial management, promote transparency and also promote financial inclusion.

Background:

• The Finance Minister has announced the setting up of the 75 DBUs in 75 districts of the country to commemorate the 75 years of Independence of India as part of the Union budget speech for 2022-2023.

What is a DBU?

The DBU (Digital Banking Unit) is a specialized fixed point business unit or hub with certain minimum digital infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and servises as well as servicing existing financial products and services digitally in self=service mode at any time.

These services include -

• Saving Bank accounts under various schemes,
• Current accounts
• Fixed deposits (FD) and Recurring Deposit (RD)
• Digital kits for customers,
• Mobile Banking
• Internet Banking
• Credit Cards
• Debit Cards
• Mass transit system cards
• Digital kits for Merchants
• UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
• QR (Quich Respose) Codes
• BHIM Aadhaar
• Point of Sale (PoS)

Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS): Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) initiative of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare was recently launched on occasion of the World Mental Health Day.

• World Mental Health Day was celebrated for the first time on October 10, 1992.
• The initiative was launched virtually by Thawar Chand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.
• NIMHANS is the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support.

Key Points:

• Tele-MANAS aims to provide free tele-mental health services all over the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas.
• The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB).
• The IIITB, and the National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHRSC) will be providing the technical support.
• The union government aims to open at least one Tele MANAS cell in each state and Union Territory.
• A toll-free number has been set up across the country allowing the callers to select the language of choice for availing services.
• Tele-MANAS will be organized in the following two tier system: -

1. Tier 1 comprises of state Tele-MANAS cells which include trained counsellors and mental health specialists.
2. Tier 2 will comprise of specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or e-Sanjeevani for audio visual consultation.

• Currently, there are 5 regional coordination centres along with 51 State/UT Tele MANAS cells.

Significance:

• Tele-MANAS strives to enhance nationwide accessibility to mental healthcare, even in remote places.
• The countrywide network will offer e-prescriptions, specialist consultations, and counselling.
• The goal of the program is to provide integrated medical and psychosocial interventions.

Background:

Acknowledging the mental health crisis in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and an urgent need to establish a digital mental health network that will withstand the challenges amplified by the pandemic, Government of India (GoI) announced National Tele Mental Health Programme (NTMHP) in the Union Budget 2022-23.

Arts

Egypt’s Rosetta Stone: Historians in Egypt have recently asked the UK to return the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum.

Key Points:

• The Rosetta Stone is large stone slab that has fascinated the world since its discovery around two centuries ago.
• It was discovered by the French military leader Napoleon’s army in Northern Egypt in 1799.
• The Rosetta Stone and other antiquities were taken by British following Napoleon’s defeat as per the provisions of the 1801 Treaty of Alexandria.
• It has been displayed at the British Museum ever since 1802.
• For a very long time, Egyptian archaeologists have demanded the Rosette Stone's return but the British Museum refused to part with the historic slab arguing that some countries might be unable to safeguard and maintain valuable historic items.
• The return of the Rosette Stone to Egypt would mean a significant boost to the tourism industry in Egypt, which is a major source of income for the country's suffering economy,

About the stone:

• The Rosetta Stone is a 2,200-year-old granodiorite stele having inscriptions of the same text in three different scripts –

1. Hieroglyphs – Suitable for a priestly decree,
2. Demotic – The cursive Egyptian script used for daily purposes, meaning ‘language of the people’, and
3. Ancient Greek – The language of the administration – the rulers of Egypt at this point were Greco-Macedonian after Alexander the Great’s conquest.

Note: This is similar to the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka’s edicts that featured Buddha’s teachings and victories in wars.

• The Rosette Stone was used by French philologist Jean-Francois Champollion to decipher hieroglyphs.
• His work helped improve the understanding of ancient Egyptian language and culture.
• It helped to develop the specific field of ancient Egypt studies, Egyptology.

Note: Egyptology is a field concerning the study of ancient Egyptian history, religion, language, literature, art and architecture from 5th millennium BC to 4th century AD.

• Before it was found, there was no knowledge of what Egyptian hieroglyphs meant and how they were translated.
• The etching was created, according to the British Museum, during the reign of King Ptolemy V, who ruled from 204–181 BC. The stone is therefore at least 2,000 years old.
• It is believed to carry messages by some priests in support of the king.
• With time the stone, among other inscriptions, was displaced.
• However, this stone was ‘rediscovered’ in the time of French king Napoleon Bonaparte, who launched a campaign in Egypt from 1798 to 1801.
• Although the specifics of its discovery are hazy, it is believed to have been discovered unintentionally by Napoleon's soldiers in the Nile Delta city of Rashid (known to the French as Rosetta) in 1799.
• On Napoleon’s defeat later at the hands of the British, the Treaty of Alexandria (1801) led to its transfer and it has been at the British Museum since then.

Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF): The 13th edition of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) was organized from October 6 to 10 this year.

Key Highlights:

• It was organized at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur after two years of hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In its 13-edition, more than 250 artists from 7 Indian states and 8 foreign countries (Mexico, Ireland, Wales, Netherlands, Mauritius, Brazil, Israel and Turkey) showcased their talent at the event.
• This year, the festival has provided stage to the bowed-string instrument, by presenting the kamaicha wizardry of seasoned exponents Ghewar and Darra Khan.
• The key highlight at the event was the “Citadels of the Sun” – a Rajasthani-Irish collaboration that was commissioned by Jodhpur RIFF and Ireland’s Earagail Arts Festival.
• The newly commissioned music was performed at the two historic forts – Grianan of Aileach fort in Ireland and Mehrangarh Fort.
• The event also featured performance by Turkey’s Yurdal Tokcan – a popular oud player.

About RIFF:

• Rajasthan International Folk Festival also called the Jodhpur RIFF or Jodhpur folk festival is an annual music and art festival organized to promote traditional folk music and arts held at Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• The festival was first organized in October 2007 as a not-for-profit partnership between Mehrangarh Museum Trust and Jaipur Virasat Foundation.
• The festival is timed to match the time of the brightest full moon of the year (which in Northern India is known as Sharad Purnima).
• The festival is organized in and around Mehrangarh Fort.
• The chief patron of the festival is Maharaja Gaj Singh.

• Maharaja Gaj Singh became the Maharaja of Jodhpur in 1952 and later served as the member of the Indian Parliament and High Commissioner of India.

• This event has been designated as the "People's Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• In 2012 and 2013, Songlines regarded RIFF as one of the best 25 international festivals.

About Rajasthan:

• Rajasthan is a state in northern India.
• It comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert (also known as the "Great Indian Desert") and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus river valley.
• It is a home of cultural diversity.
• Its features include the ruins of Indus Valley Civilization, Temples, Forts and Fortresses in almost every city.
• Rajasthan divided into 9 regions; Ajmer State, Hadoti, Dhundhar, Gorwar, Shekhawati, Mewar, Marwar, Vagad and Mewat which are equally rich in its heritage and artistic contribution.
• These regions have a parallel history which goes along with that of the state.
• It became a State after 1947 when the princely states and chiefships were integrated into India in stages, and the state took the name Rajasthan.
• The early history of Rajasthan includes some of the great Maharanas and Rulers.
• Prominent among them were Prithiviraj Chouhan, Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (also known as Hemu), Maharana Udai Singh, Maharana Pratap, Raja Maan Singh and others.
• It assumed its present form on November 1, 1956, when the States Reorganization Act came into force.
• It is famous for its many historical forts, temples and palaces (havelis), which predominantly drives tourism in the state.
• The Capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur.
• The current Chief Minister and Governor of Rajasthan is Ashok Gehlot and Kalraj Mishra respectively.

Economics

LEADS 2022 Survey Report: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal recently launched Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2022 survey report.

Key Points:

• The LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure, services, and human resources across all 36 States and UTs.
• The index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.
• The LEADS serves as a feedback mechanism on the current logistical capacities and generates recommendations for further improvement by interacting with various end-user stakeholders.
• It then further uses the feedback evaluation to classify states on the scale of logistics ease currently present among them.
• The LEADS 2022 has garnered more than 6500 responses from more than 2100 respondents across the country.
• Unlike the previous versions of LEADS which were based on ranking systems for all states, LEADS 2022 has adopted a classification-based grading, states have been now classified under four categories viz coastal states, hinterland/landlocked states, north-eastern states, and Union Territories.
• For the assessment of how well a State or UT has performed in comparison to the Top State/UT within the specific cluster.

Three performance categories namely,

1. Achievers: States/UTs achieving 90% or more percentage,
2. Fast Movers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores between 80% to 90%, and
3. Aspirers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores below 80% have been made.

• Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are among the 15 States and UTs categorised as achievers in the logistics index chart 2022, according to a report released by the commerce and Industry Ministry on October 13, 2022.
• Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Puducherry, and Tripura are the other States categorised as fast movers in the ranking.
• The 15 States and UTs ranked in the aspirer’s category include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Goa, Mizoram, Ladakh, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The other States and UTs which are in the achiever’s category include Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

• The LEADS 2022 survey report would assist PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) and National Logistics Policy (NLP) to perform a network mapping of logistics infrastructure, services, and regulatory environment.
• This in turn will enable the State Governments to identify and fill the gaps and achieve data-driven multimodal connectivity.

4th NICDC Investors' Roundtable Conference: The 4th National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) Investors' Roundtable Conference was held in Mumbai on October 10, 2022.

Key Points:

• The 4th NICDC Investors' Roundtable Conference was organized by Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited (MITL).
• Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited (MITL) formerly known as Aurangabad Industrial Township ltd is a joint venture between Government of India (GoI) and Government of Maharashtra.
• Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Dy. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Shri Uday Samant, Minister of Industries attended the Round Table Conference.
• The event was also be attended by Consul Generals of various countries, prominent investors, and top officials of the Government of Maharashtra.
• This event witnessed an extensive participation from various investors from AURIC, some of whom shared the experience of setting up their business units at the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area.
• The Investors Roundtable Conference has previously been hosted in Delhi, Kochi, and Ahmedabad.
• The 4th edition of the conference showcased the development of upcoming greenfield industrial cities across India, which have been planned by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited.
• At present, four such greenfield smart industrial cities are being developed in Maharashtra in the districts of Aurangabad, Satara, Raigad and Nagpur.
• The conference facilitated a meaningful discussion among the stakeholders and help in identifying various collaboration opportunities for investors.

About National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC):

• National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) is a Special Purpose Vehicle aiming to develop new industrial cities as "Smart Cities" and converging next generation technologies across infrastructure sectors.
• The main objective of this programme is to provide impetus to planned urbanization in India with manufacturing as the key driver.

Defence

IBSAMAR VII: The seventh edition of maritime exercise IBSAMAR was recently organized from 10th to 12th October 2022 at Port Gqeberha (also known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa.

Key Highlights:

• IBSAMAR is a joint multinational maritime exercise, among the Indian, Brazilian and South Africa navies.
• Note: IBSAMAR is an important part of IBSA trilateral defence cooperation.
• The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted in Simons Town, South Africa in 2018.

Key Points about IBSAMAR VII:

• The opening ceremony of IBSAMAR VII was conducted on 11 Oct 22.
• The debrief and closing ceremony were conducted onboard INS Tarkash off Port Gqeberha.
• The exercise progressed over three days that included both harbour and sea phases.
• The sea phase was held covering a broad spectrum of maritime operations.
• The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII included professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills, Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) and cross boarding lectures and interaction among special forces.
• The Indian Navy was represented in it by the guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and MARCOS special forces.
• The objectives of the Joint Maritime Exercise included strengthening maritime relations, promoting joint operational military training, combating maritime crimes, securing Sea Lines of Communication, and enhancing interoperability to pursue common evolutions at sea.

INS Tarkash:

• INS Tarkash is a state-of-the-art stealth frigate of the Indian Navy built by Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad, Russia.
• It is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors capable of addressing threats in all three dimensions. It incorporates the latest stealth features such as low radar, infra-red, acoustic and magnetic signatures, making it difficult to detect at sea.
• The ship is part of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
• In 2015, it was part of the Operation Raahat, which was launched to provide protection and assistance to Indian vessels and aircraft involved in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Yemen during the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in the civil war.
•  
• Just recently, in August 2022, INS Tarkash took part in a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Brazilian Navy.
• The exercise involved cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres.
• The frigate also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15 this year at Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. 

About IBSA:

• IBSA is a unique Forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.
• All three countries are developing, pluralistic, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious nations. The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on 6 June 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
• The Brasilia Declaration established a Trilateral Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers.
• The Commission meets regularly.
• The first meeting of the Trilateral Commission was held in New Delhi on 4 - 5 March 2004.
• In addition, Foreign Ministers meet regularly before every IBSA Summit as well as on the sidelines of UNGA in New York.
• India is current IBSA Chair.

Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts:

• First, as a forum for consultation and coordination on global and regional political issues, such as, the reform of the global institutions of political and economic governance, WTO/Doha Development Agenda, climate change, terrorism etc.;
• Second, trilateral collaboration on concrete areas/projects, through fourteen working groups and six People-to-People Forums, for the common benefit of three countries;
• Third, assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.

IBSA Fund:

• Established in 2004, IBSA Fund (India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation) is a unique Fund through which development projects are executed with IBSA funding in fellow developing countries.
• An annual amount of US $ 1 million is contributed by each IBSA member country.
• The fund is managed by the United Nations (UN) Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). Each IBSA member country is required to contribute $1 million per annum to the fund.

Significance of IBSA:

• The IBSA Dialogue Forum plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policies of India, Brazil, and South Africa.
• It has become instrumental for promoting ever closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and multiracial democracies of Asia, South America and Africa, and contributed to enhancing trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa cooperation in sectoral areas.
• It promotes the international poverty alleviation and social development with main focus being on equitable development.
• It also aims to explore avenues to promote cooperation in broad range of areas, which include agriculture, climate change and global warming, culture, defence, education, energy, health, information society, science and technology, social development, trade and investment, tourism and transport.

Commandant AFMC Pune: Vice Admiral Arti Sarin recently took over as the commandant of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune on 5 October 2022. 

Key Points:

• She was commissioned in 1985 into Armed Forces Medical Services and she has the distinction of having completed two postgraduate degrees.
• She is from the Indian Navy.
• Colonel P P Chowdry was the first commandant of the AFMC.

About Aarti Sarin:

• Aarti Sarin is a graduate of the AFMC.
• She was commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services on December 1985.
• She has the distinction of having completed two postgraduate degrees, including in radiodiagnosis from AFMC.
• She has also been trained in gamma knife surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.
• She has held prestigious academic and administrative appointments including professor and HoD Radiation Oncology Army Hospital R&R Delhi and Command Hospital and AFMC Pune.
• She has been awarded the Chief of Naval Staff commendation in 2001, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief commendation in 2013, the Chief of Army Staff commendation in 2017, and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021

Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC):

• Armed Forces Medical College is the first medical college to be set up by armed forces in Asia.
• It was set up on 1 May 1948 at Pune, Maharashtra.
• It caters to the medical needs of the armed forces in India.

Environment

Kadavur Slender Loris sanctuary: The state government of Tamil Nadu has notified the establishment of the country's first Kadavur Slender Loris.

Key Points:

• The government notified the establishment of the new sanctuary under Section 26 A(1)(b) of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Named Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary, it will be covering 11,806 hectares in the Karur and Dindigul districts of the State.
• The sanctuary will play an important role in conserving the species and is another milestone in Tamil Nadu’s conservation efforts.
• With these steps, Tamil Nadu is setting new benchmarks in the conservation of endangered wild species.
• Over the past 15 months, it had announced the fifth elephant reserve of the state in the elephant reserve at Agasthyamalai in Tirunelveli in addition to India's first dugong conservation reserve in Palk Bay, Nanjarayan Tank birds sanctuary in Tiruppur, Kazhuveli bird sanctuary in Villupuram, and Nanjarayan Tank birds sanctuary in Tiruppur.

About Slender Loris:

• Slender lorises, belonging to genus loris, are nocturnal mammals and are arboreal in nature.
• They are native to South India and Sri Lanka.
• Lorises spends most of their life on trees travelling the atop the branches with slow and precise movements.
• They are found in scrub forests, semi-deciduous forests, swamps and tropical rain forests.
• They are biological predator of pests of agricultural crops and benefits farmers.
• The species has a broad range of ecological roles and importance to play in the terrestrial environment.
• The survival of the Kadavur depends on its habitat improvement, conservation efforts, and mitigation of threats.
• They are categorized as endangered animal by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
• These endangered primates are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.

Why are they endangered?

• Poaching and the habitat loss are the main threats faced by them.
• They are poached because of the erroneous belief that they have magical powers.
• The loss of acacia tree, habitat fragmentation, hunting for pet trade and meat are among the reasons for the dwindling population of this species.

What is an animal sanctuary?

• An animal sanctuary is a place where species mainly endangered, are brought to live and kept to protect them for the rest of their lives.
• Sanctuaries are an experimental ground for transformative human-animal relations.

In India, there are a total of 565 wildlife sanctuaries in which different species are kept and protected from being extinct.

The Trapping Zone: Recently, scientists reported the discovery of ‘The Trapping Zone’ in the island nation Maldives.

Key Points:

• It was 500 metres below the surface and was called ‘a paradise of oceanic life.
• It was discovered by scientists under the Nekton Maldives Mission.
• The scientists spotted the ecosystem using the camera on the submersible named Omega Seamaster II.
• Biological samples were also collected for further research.
• The data collected during the expedition is reportedly being analysed in the Maldives, Nekton’s UK headquarters in Oxford and at partner laboratories.

What are Nektons?

Nektons are pelagic faunal species (i.e. animals living in the open seas away from the shore) that are capable of swimming independently of wind and water currents. Some examples include bony fishes and sharks (under chordate nekton category), octopuses and squids (under molluscan nekton category) and shrimps and lobsters (under arthropod nekton category).

About the discovery:

• After performing extensive sonar mapping, the scientists discovered megafauna predators like sharks and other huge fish feeding on swarms of micro-nekton.
• According to the scientists, these organisms are trapped at the 500 m mark, by the subaerial terrain.
• These usually migrate from the deep sea to the surface at night and back into the deep at dawn, this phenomenon is known as Vertical Migration.
• However, they are prevented from diving deeper by the subsea features like the cliffs, terraces, volcanic structures and fossilized carbonate reefs, forming the base of the atolls.
• These trapped animals are then targeted by megafauna and large pelagic predators including schools of sharks and tuna and large deep-water fish like spiky oreos and alfonsino.
• While scientists have found sharks in shallow waters in the Maldives, this is the first instance that they were able to document “an immense diversity of sharks in the deep sea”.
• They also documented tiger sharks, six-gill sharks, sand tiger sharks, dogfish, gulper sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, silky sharks and the very rare bramble shark. 

Significance:

• This discovery is significant given the critical knowledge of sub-surface biodiversity would further support conservation efforts and encourage sustainable ocean management.
• It also has important implications for other islands as well, including aspects like slopes of continents, sustainable fisheries management, and the burial and storage of carbon, which could help mitigate climate change someday
• In addition, it would boost the country’s fisheries and tourism sectors.

Indian Policy

Education 4.0 Report: The new Education 4.0 India report was jointly released by the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF), and YuWaah in a collaboration with Generation Unlimited India.

Key Points:

• The report offers a plan to close educational gaps with the help of the latest technology and make education accessible to all.
• The information was published under Education 4.0 India initiative, launched in May 2020.
• It has brought together more than 40 partners from academic, start-up, government, and education technology fields.
• The report is a result of their deliberations and is aimed at building a robust strategy that can be widely implemented, while being cost-effective and sustainable.
• Under four themes –

1. Foundational literacy and numeracy
2. Teacher professional development
3. School-to-work transition
4. Connecting the unconnected 

• The report identifies gaps and outlines interventions, each substantiated by case studies and an implementation roadmap to bring impact on scale.

Key Findings of the Report:

The Education Market:

• After the US, India is the second-largest market for online education.
• With conducive policies and initiatives of the government, such as the National Education Policy 2020 and over 5000 EdTech start-ups across the learning lifecycle, the current education environment is potent for digital transformation.
• However, a lack of coordinated efforts has led to an isolated skilling ecosystem that has not been able to achieve its maximum potential.
• These issues can be resolved with the help of flipbooks, dynamic content, and read-aloud techniques.
• Furthermore, the usage of digital tools can be used to solve various education-related issues and make schoolchildren's learning enjoyable and engaging.

The Pandemic Effect:

• Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has mostly abated in much of the world, India's school-to-work (S2W) transition process continues to face substantial obstacles such as -

• Lack of trainers,
• Insufficient resources,
• Infrastructure gaps,
• Poor integration with mainstream school Education curriculum and
• Poorly links between local skill gaps and vocational courses.

(The term S2W transition refers to the process of preparing tudents job-ready in a raoidly changing labour market.)

• More than 60 million secondary and higher secondary students attend schools in India, yet only 85% have included vocational courses in their curriculum.
• The report noted that many students and parents consider vocational education the second-best option to mainstream education.

The Career Backlog:

• Employers expect students to have high level of competencies, knowledge and skills related to their jobs.
• They also favour those students with strong communication skills, teamwork and problem-solving and critical thinking capabilities.
• Currently, there is now no institutional channel to incorporate the participation of industries in order to address this issue, and the educational system in schools lacks the resources to meet the demands of the industry.
• In addition, credits cannot be transferred between formal and informal education streams, making it challenging for students to link their credits if they wish to pursue higher education after taking vocational courses (or vice versa). This discourages mobility between the two streams.

The report recommends -

• Improving career awareness,
• Expanding employment opportunities through Internships and apprenticeships,
• Allowing credit transferability so that Students can switch between formal and Informal educational settings,
• Fostering holistic development through language learning,
• STEM-based coursework, and
• Life skills coaching, among other things.

About Education 4.0 report:

• Education 4.0 India initiative was launched in May 2020.
• It aims to address the disparities in India’s education sector and to empower and engage young people.
• It proposes a roadmap to improve India’s school system and serves as a call to action to all stakeholders in the ed-tech space to come together to transform the sector.
• The Education 4.0 report assesses the progress and findings from Education 4.0 India initiative, which focuses on the use of Industrial Revolution 4.0 technologies in improving the learning outcomes and reducing inequalities in India’s education sector.
• The report identifies gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy, teacher professional development, school-to-work transition and connecting the unconnected and suggests solutions with five common building blocks – curriculum, content, capacity, community and digital infrastructure.
• It also provides a framework for the development of scalable pilots that can be implemented by state governments and ecosystem partners.
• This includes best practices that can augment the existing education ecosystem and be useful for a wide range of stakeholders.

2nd UNWGIC 2022: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the 2nd edition of the United Nations World Geospatial Congress (UNWGIC) 2022 in Hyderabad, Telangana.

Key Points:

• It has been organized from October 10 to 14, 2022 by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• It is being hosted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and convened by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
• The event will witness the participation of over 2,000 delegates from over 120 countries across the world.

Theme of the event:

• The theme of the event is “Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind”.
• By establishing a community for the gathering of human data, it will focus on creating an inclusive and equitable global society.

Agenda:

• It will promote dialogues on the management of global geospatial information that will benefit governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, and academics.
• Additionally, it emphasizes on the importance of global coordination and cooperation in the growth of human data connected to geography
• which can help in the creation of a high-quality and reliable geospatial data that can help in the international and national policy agenda.
• In order to support the implementation and oversight of the sustainable development goals, it will strive to highlight the importance of the integrated geospatial information infrastructure and knowledge services (SDGs).
• The discussions will be held on improving the well-being of society, resolving issues relating to the environment and climate, and promoting technology advancement.

About UNWGIC:

• The first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) was held in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China in 2018.
• The United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) organizes the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) every four years.
• Its objectives include enhancing international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management, capacities, related technologies to help in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The Moganshan Declaration was adopted at the conclusion of the event to make a commitment to acknowledging the significance of geospatial and localized information and promoting SDGs at the national level.

Additional Info:

What is meant by geospatial technology?

Geospatial Technology is an emerging field of study that includes

• Remote Sensing
• Electromagnetic impulses
• Filmed or digital aerial imagery
• Radars and lidars
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Geospatial technology enables us to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use it for analysis, modeling, simulations, and visualization.

It allows us to determine the exact location of an object or person on our planet.

Applications of Geospatial Technology:

Meteorology: Referring weather forecasts to particular territories.

Forestry: Detecting forest fires and deforestation & preventing large-scale wildfires.

Agriculture: Assessing vegetation state on a selected terrain.

Healthcare: Monitoring areas of epidemic outbreaks.

Ecology: Tracing species populations in certain areas, preventing and addressing calamities.

Logistics: Tracking goods and ensuring their quality.

Transportations: Identifying location and time of arrival, route making, and navigation.

Marketing and advertising: Targeting ads to relevant regions.

Real estate: Visualizing and analyzing real estate objects remotely.

Insurance: Managing risks in questioned areas via historical georeferenced data analysis.

New Guidelines on Geospatial Policy of India:

• New guidelines on geospatial policy of India was recently released by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• This new policy liberalizes the sector to a more competitive field.

Objectives of new policy:

Free access to geospatial data:

• All Indian entities have unrestricted access to its geospatial data and services, including maps, with the exception of information that relates to sensitive defence or security.
• It envisions the advantages of geospatial technologies reaching both urban and rural areas and making geographic information available to everyone.
• For instance, the SVAMITA scheme, which gives rural landowners a digital certificate of their landholding, aims to empower the rural populace.

Restrictions Removed:

• Indian corporations and innovators are no longer subject to restrictions nor do they need to obtain prior approval before collecting, generating, preparing, disseminating, storing, publishing, or updating digital geospatial data and maps inside the boundaries of India.

Indian polity

50th Chief Justice of India: In November 2022, Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud is scheduled to become the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Key Points:

• Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit, as per protocol, suggested the name of Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud as his successor for the coveted post in presence of other judges of the Supreme Court.

• He is about to complete his tenure as Chief Justice of India on November 8.
• Justice Lalit was sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India on August 27, 2022,

• If the center accepts the proposal, D.Y Chandrachud will become the first second-generation Chief Justice of India.

About Justice DY Chandrachud:

• Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud is a Supreme Court judge who is popularly known as the ‘judge who is not afraid to dissent.’
• He was born on 11 November 1959.
• He is the son of Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud who was the 16th Chief Justice of India, serving from February 22, 1978, till July 11, 1985.
• He was appointed to the Supreme Court of India on August 28, 1972.
• He was the longest-serving Chief Justice in India's history, having served for 7 years and 4 months.
• He earned his LLB from Delhi University.
• After earning the coveted Inlaks Scholarship, he went on to study at Harvard University.
• He earned his Master’s in Law (LLM) and Doctorate in Juridical Sciences at Harvard (SJD).
• Chandrachud practised law at the Supreme Court, the High Courts of Gujarat, Calcutta, Allahabad, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi before being appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court.
• He testified before the Company Law Board, the Monopolies and Restricted Trade Practices Commission, the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) Board, and several national and state commissions.
• In 1998, the Bombay High Court appointed him as Senior Advocate.
• From 1998 to 2000, he was India's Additional Solicitor General.
• He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000.
• On October 31, 2013, he took his oath as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
• On May 13, 2016, he was appointed as a Judge to the Supreme Court of India.

Notable Judgements:

• Justice Chandrachud's most notable cases as an advocate have addressed constitutional and administrative law, the rights of HIV+ employees, religious and linguistic minority rights, and labour and industrial regulations.

During his tenure -

• He sentenced Sanjay Gandhi to jail in a case concerning the film “Kissa Kursi Ka” – a political satire film that was banned during the time of National Emergency.
• In 1975, the former CJI Chandrachud was among the four in five judges who upheld the President’s order to impose emergency in the country.
• As a SC judge, DY Chandrachud had overturned two of the judgements made by his father concerning adultery and the right to privacy.
• He also overruled another landmark judgement of his father that upheld the colonial era adultery law. Justice Chandrachud struck down this law and voiced that it is a “codified rule of patriarchy”.
• In 2017, the top court involving Justice DY Chandrachud and other judges overruled the 1975 ruling in the infamous Habeaus Corpus case, which allowed the suspension of the right to life during emergency.
• Other landmark judgements featuring DY Chandrachud include those on euthanasia, women entering Sabarimala, homosexuality being decriminalised, abortion rights, the Hadiya case, medical college cases, and the PIL mandating the playing of the national anthem in movie theatres.

Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022: The union cabinet recently approved the multi-state cooperative societies (amendment) act on October 12, 2022.

Key Points:

• It seeks to amend the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
• The decision was made to improve governance, reform electoral process, strengthen monitoring mechanism, improve composition of Board, and also enhance transparency and accountability in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies.
• The bill will incorporate the provisions of the 97th Constitutional Amendment.
• The action was taken to make the democratic, transparent, and accountable governance of multi-State cooperative societies.

Key Provisions in the Bill:

• It has the provision to set up a cooperative election authority, an information officer and an ombudsman.

• The election authority will ensure that elections are held in a free, fair, and timely manner.
• This in turn will help in decreasing incidents of malpractice and complaints.
• The provision to preclude electrical offenders for three years will promote more electoral discipline.
• Cooperative Information Officer will encourage transparency by providing members with timely access to information.
• Cooperative Ombudsman will enable a mechanism for the redressal of member grievances in an organized manner.

• Provisions relating to representation of women and Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) members in the board of co-operative societies have been included to facilitate inclusiveness.
• Provisions have been included for appointing Co-opted directors with experience in the field of banking, management, cooperative management and finance to promote professional management.
• A provision for the applicant to get an additional two-month time for rectification of errors have also been introduced in the amendments to increase the ease of doing business by decreasing the period of registration.
• It also provides for electronic submission and issuance of documents thus giving a comprehensive digital ecosystem for multi-state co-operative societies.
• Along with approving the raising of funds in multi-state cooperative societies, the Bill also aims to improve the board's composition and maintain financial discipline.

Background:

• Former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar introduced the Multi-State Cooperatives (Amendment) Bill, 2010 in the Lok Sabha on November 15, 2010.
• Under the law the Central Government can appoint a Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

What is a cooperative society?

• A Cooperative Society can be defined as a voluntary association of individuals united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural Interests.
• Its objective is to serve the interest of society through the principle of self-help and mutual help.

Multi-State Cooperative Societies in India:

• The Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 was enacted with a view to facilitating democratic functioning and autonomous working of multi-state co-operative societies in line with the established co-operative principles.

• India has more than 1,500 multi-state co-operative societies working as an essential tool to promote the economic and social betterment of their members based on the principles of self-help and mutual aid.
• There are many societies whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
• For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states.
• These are known as multi-state cooperative society.

Cooperative Societies in India.

As per the Govt data, there are about 8,55,000 cooperative societies in India. These include some big names like IFFCO, Kribhco and Nafed.

• Of this, 1,77,000 are credit societies, 700,000 are cooperative societies, 17 national level cooperative unions, and 33 state cooperative banks.
• There are more than 63,000 active Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) with more than 12 crore members.
• Around 91% of the villages have cooperatives.

Key Info:

• The roots of cooperative Societies in India were sown when the first Cooperative Societies Act was passed in 1904.
• The Government Passed the Co-operative Societies Act of 1912.
• The National Development Council (NDC) recommended a national policy on cooperatives and the setting up of Cooperative Marketing Societies in 1958.
• National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was set up under the National Cooperative Development Corporation Act, of 1962.
• Union Government announced a National Policy on Cooperatives in 2002.
• The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 granted constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.

97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011:

• It established the right to form cooperative societies as a fundamental right (Article 19).
• It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on the Promotion of Cooperative Societies (Article 43-B).
• It added a new Part IX-B to the Constitution titled "The Co-operative Societies" (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT).
• It authorizes the Parliament to establish relevant laws in the case of multi-state cooperative societies (MSCS) and state legislatures in the case of other cooperative societies.

International

Interpol: United States-based International Police Organization (Interpol) recently rejected India’s request to issue a Red Corner Notice against Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Key Points:

• The request was raised by Central Bureau of Investigation's NCB on behalf of National Investigating Agency (NIA).
• NIA's request was rejected on terror charges against the Canada-based founder and legal advisor of pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) on the basis that Indian authorities failed to provide sufficient information to support their case.
• In its reply, Interpol has also cited the 'misuse' of UAPA in India to target minorty groups and human rights activists without 'respecting' their right to due process and a fair trial.
• Interpol also pointed out that Pannun's activities have a "clear political dimension" and therefore it cannot be the subject of a Red Corner Notice.

Why India is seeking a red notice against Pannun?

• Gurpatwant Singh Pannun faces several cases in India including sedition and terror-related charges.
• He is also accused of provoking Khalistani movements in the country.
• In 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared SFJ as "unlawful association" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and banned the organisation for five years.
• The Canada-based founder of the pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice was designated as a terrorist in India under UAPA in 2020.

About Interpol:

• The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, is an international organization with 194-member countries that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.
• It was established on 7 September 1923.
• It is headquartered in Lyon in France.

Mandate:

• It enables cross-border police cooperation and supports and assists all organisations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.
• It provides investigative support, expertise, and training to law enforcement worldwide, focusing on three major areas of transnational crime:

1. Terrorism,
2. Cybercrime, and
3. Organized crime.

• Its broad mandate covers virtually every kind of crime, including crimes against humanity, child pornography, drug trafficking and production, political corruption, intellectual property infringement, and white-collar crime.
• The agency also facilitates cooperation among national law enforcement institutions through criminal databases and communications networks.

Note: Interpol is itself not a law enforcement agency.

Governance:

• All decisions regarding the activities of INTERPOL are made by the General Assembly which is its supreme governing body which meets annually.

About National Central Bureau (NCB):

• It has a National Central Bureau (NCB) in each member country, which is the central point of contact for both the general secretariat and the other NCBs around the world.
• Each NCB is run by police officials of that country, and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing (Union Home Ministry in India).
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) represents Interpol in India as the country's national central bureau.

Types of Notices:

It issues 8 type of notices out of which 7 are colour-coded.

They are in the form of alert/requests allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.

1. Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of a person wanted by a judicial jurisdiction or an international tribunal with a view to his/her extradition. It is the "closest instrument to an international arrest warrant”.
2. Blue Notice: To locate, identify or obtain information on a person of interest in a criminal investigation.
3. Green Notice: To warn about a person's criminal activities if that person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.
4. Yellow Notice: To locate a missing person or to identify a person unable to identify himself/herself.
5. Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies.
6. Orange Notice: To warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing an imminent threat and danger to persons or property.
7. Purple Notice: To provide information on modus operandi, procedures, objects, devices or hiding places used by criminals.

Interpol-UNSC Special Notice: To inform Interpol's members that an individual or an entity is subject to UN sanctions.

World Standards Day 2022: Every year World Standards Day also known as International Standards Day is observed on October 14 to raise global awareness about the importance of using standardized measurements, technologies, and industries.

Key Points:

• This day strives to educate consumers, policymakers, and businesses about the value of standardization.
• Many organizations plan events to show the importance of standardization at the global level.
• The day also gives recognition to the achievements of scientists for developing voluntary universal standards that can be used for various measurements.
• Organizations like ISO (the International Organization for Standardization), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) have come together to bring together the world community to solve issues linked with standardization after the pandemic.

Theme for World Standards Day 2022:

The theme for this year is “Shared Vision for a Better World”.

This year’s theme is part of the campaigns ISO, IEC and ITU towards creating global awareness about the role of standardization in achieving the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

World Standards Day 2022 in India:

• On the occasion of World Standards Day 2022, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) organized a standards conclave called “Manak Mahotsav”.
• The event was organized based on the theme “Standards for Sustainable Development Goals – A Shared Vision for a Better World”.

World Standards Day: Significance

• The significance of observing World Standard Day is to value the need for standardisation globally.
• This day pays tribute to the thousands of experts across the globe who collaborated to develop voluntary technical agreements, which are published as the International Standards.
• The day honours the contributions of organisations such as the ISO, IEC, ITU, International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), as well as the professionals, who collaborate with them.

Importance of Standardization:

• Before the modern standardization of units of measurement, the common units of measurement used to vary even at the scale of small geographic regions.
• The process of standardization is a crucial tool for facilitating trade and overcoming technical challenges in the age of globalization.
• It boosts access to global market, promotes innovation, international collaboration, increases efficiency and minimizes wastages.
• It also ensures the creation of a better world by building smart cities based on international standards.

History-World Standards Day:

• The day has its footprints in 1946 when delegates from 25 countries came together in London.
• On 14 October 1946, World Standards Day was first created.
• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded in 1947 with 67 technical committees.
• The first World Standards Day, however, was formally inaugurated in 1970 by Faruk Sunter, then-President of the ISO who wished to facilitate standardization in the industrial sectors.
• The date of 14 October was chosen to commemorate the first meeting of delegates from 25 countries on 14 October 1946 in London, who decided to design a global organization to facilitate standardization.

About International Organization for Standardization:

• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard development organization that develops and publishes standards in all technical and non-technical fields.
• Since its inception, it has published over 24,261 international standards for business and technologies.
• It is headquartered in Geneva.
• It has representatives from national standards organizations of the member countries.
• As of 2022, it has 167-member states.

New President of Iraqi Parliament: The Iraqi parliament recently elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the new president.

Key Points:

• Rashid,78 has been elected as the 9th President of Iraq.
• The decision was made after many rocket attacks on Baghdad's Green Zone for several hours.
• Rashid won more than 160 votes against 99 for the incumbent Iraqi Kurd Barham Saleh.
• He is a British-educated engineer and was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010.

Who is Abdul Latif Rashid?

• Rashid born in 1944 in the northeastern Sulaymaniyah region of Iraq graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Liverpool in 1968.
• He completed his engineering doctorate in 1976 from the University of Manchester.
• He can speak speaks Kurdish, Arabic and English.
• He has a long history in Iraqi politics.
• He served as the minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010 under the government of Nouri-al-Maliki and then as the senior adviser to the President.
• Before this, he also served in the same position under both the Iraqi Transitional Government and the Iraqi Interim Government.
• He is a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.
• He was also the former spokesperson for the PUK in Britain.

Note:

• Iraq's president, prime minister, and speaker of the parliament are from different sects in a power-sharing arrangement meant to prevent sectarian conflict.
• According to the Iraqi political norm since 2006, a Kurd is elected as president of the country, while a Shia takes the role of prime minister and a Sunni will head the parliament.

About Iraq:

• It is officially the Republic of Iraq.
• It is a country in Western Asia, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west.
• The capital city of Iraq is Baghdad.
• The currency used her is Iraqui Dinar.

People In News

Chief Justices for High Courts: The Union Ministry of Law and Justice recently announced the appointment of the new Chief Justices for the High Courts in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Key Points:

• Notifications were released by the law ministry’s Department of Justice, in this regard.
• The government announced the appointment after the Supreme Court collegium had recommended their appointment in September.
• Justice Prasann Bhalachandra Varale of the Bombay High Court was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court while Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court has been elevated as its Chief Justice.
• Incumbent Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Justice Pankaj Mithal  has been appointed as Chief Justice in the Rajasthan High Court. 
• Justice Prasanna B Varale has been appointed as the Karnataka HC’s Chief Justice. He was the senior most judge of the Bombay High Court.
• Justice AM Magrey was elevated as the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. He was earlier the Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

What is the procedure for the appointment of High Court Chief Justice?

• Under article 217 of the Indian constitution the Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• The CJI consults two senior most Judges of the Supreme Court and other Judges who are conversant with the affairs of the concerned High Court.
• The CJI will send the recommendation to the Union Minister of Law, Justice.
• The Union Minister of Law, Justice then obtains the views of the concerned State Government.
• After receipt of the views of the State Government, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, will submit proposals to the Prime Minister, who will then advise the President as to the selection.
• As soon as the appointment is approved by the President, the Ministry of Law and Justice announces the appointment and issues necessary notification in the Gazette of India.

Aparajita Sarangi: Aparajita Sarangi who is a Lok Sabha member from Bhubaneswar has been elected as a member to the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Key Points:

• In the election for the position conducted in Kigali, Rwanda, the Odisha legislator received 12 of the total 18 votes.
• Sarangi will represent India at the 15-member executive committee of the union.
• This is for the first time in 20 years, that India will have her representative in the international committee.
• The Indian Parliamentary Delegation is being led by Harivansh, Deputy Chairperson in Rajya Sabha.
• Aparajita Sarangi, Harivansh and Sasmit Patra attended a meeting called by the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union following her nomination.

The 145th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly is being held currently in Kigali, Rwanda.

Background:

• The Asia Pacific Group (APG) of which India is a Member was to elect a member from the APG countries to IPU Executive Committee.
• The APG organized a secret ballot to decide the Group's nomination for the above vacancy.
• Aparajita Sarangi received overwhelming support from the APG Member Parliaments and won the election by thumping majority

About the Inter-Parliamentary Union:

• The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is an international organization of national parliaments.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union was founded in 1889.
• It connects national parliaments in order to promote greater accountability, transparency and participation at global level.
• Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The current President of IPU is Saber Hossain Chowdhury.
• The current Secretary-General is Martin Chungong.

Dr Adarsh Swaika: Dr Adarsh Swaika (IFS: 2002) who is a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has been appointed India's next Ambassador to Kuwait.

Key Points:

• Swaika will succeed Sibi George as the Indian envoy in Kuwait.
• In recent years, relations between India and Kuwait have significantly improved.

Other appointments:

• Avtar Singh, a Director in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea.

• Avtar Singh (YOA: 2006), presently Director in the Ministry of External Affairs.

SJFI medal: The Sports Journalists’ Federation of India medal (SJFI medal) for 2019 was recently presented to badminton legendary star Prakash Padukone.

Key Highlights:

• He was awarded the SJFI medal during a cordial ceremony at the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
• Cricket legend G.R. Viswanath was among those in attendance to honour the 1980 All England winner.
• Other Legends in Attendance included former Indian batting champion V.V.S. Laxman, hockey stars Dhanraj Pillay and Arjun Halappa, international table tennis player Vasanth Bharadwaj, and badminton player Trupti Murgunde.
• Vijay Amritraj was the inaugural recipient of the award.
• This award was established in 2018.
• The COVID-19 outbreak caused a delay in the 2019 award ceremony.

Places In News

India’s First 24x7 Solar-Powered Village: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently declared Modhera in Gujarat’s Mehsana district as first 24*7 solar powered villages in India.

Key Highlights:

• The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over ₹3,900 crore earlier in the day in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat.
• He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja.

Key Points:

• Modhera has become the country’s first round-the-clock-solar powered village involved in developing a ground-mounted solar power plant.
• More than 1,300 rooftop solar systems  are also installed on residential and government buildings, enabling its residents to receive cost-free solar energy 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
• All these solar systems are connected to the battery energy storage system (BESS) which is  first grid-connected megawatt hour scale battery energy storage system in India.
• The village will be powered throughout the day by solar panels, and in the evening, the BESS will power the homes.
• It will enable people to save 60 to 100 per cent on the electricity bills.
• The project was implemented in two phases, with state allocating 12 hectares of land for its implementation.
• Both the central and state governments have invested around Rs.80 crore for this project.

About Modhera village:

• Modhera village is situated on the banks of River Pushpavati.
• This village spanning across 2,436 hectares of land is situated 25 km from Gujarat’s Mehsana district and about 100 km from the state’s capital, Gandhinagar.
• Modhera is famous for its Sun temple.
• It was built by King Bhima-I of the Chaulukya dynasty in 1026-27.
• The temple has been built in Maru-Gurjara style (Chaulukya style) of architecture.

This ancient site was recently equipped with a solar-powered 3D projection facility that will provide information about the history of the village to tourists.

This temple became the first heritage site in India to only use solar energy with the recent launch of the Heritage Lighting.

Development projects in HP: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Himachal Pradesh (HP) introduced various development projects during his visit in the state.

Developmental Projects in Chamba, HP:

• PM Modi laid the foundation stone of two hydropower projects and launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

• These projects will generate over 270 million units of electricity annually and Himachal Pradesh is expected to get annual revenue of around one hundred ten crore rupees.

Developmental projects in Una:

Bulk Drug Park:

• He laid the foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park.
• It will be built at a cost of over Rs 1900 crore.
• The Bulk Drug Park will help reduce dependence on API imports.
• It is expected to attract investment of around Rs. 10,000 crores and provide employment to more than 20,000 people.
• It will also give a fillip to economic activities in the region.

Information Technology (IIIT) Una:

• He dedicated the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Una to the nation.
• Its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2017.
• Currently, more than 530 students are pursuing studies at this institute.

Vande Bharat Express:

• He flagged off the Vande Bharat Express from Una to New Delhi.
• This is the fourth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country.
• The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and a faster mode of travel.

Mr. Modi will launch Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana -3 in Himachal Pradesh for upgradation of around three thousand 125 kilometres of roads in the State.

Significance of Development projects introduced in HP:

• The projects will boost regional connectivity.
• It will ensure the availability of digital facilities up to their maximum potential.

World Green City Award 2022:  Hyderabad recently won the overall 'World Green City Award 2022' and another in the category 'Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth.'

Key Points:

• The Indian city bagged the prestigious World Green City Awards 2022 at the International Association of Horticulture Producers (AIPH) 2022 World Green City Awards 2022 held in Jeju, South Korea on October 14.
• Hyderabad beat major cities around the world, including Paris (France), Bogota (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), Montreal (Canada), and Fortaleza (Brazil) to receive World Green City Award 2022 – the best across all six categories.

The six categories of award are -

1. Living Green for Biodiversity
2. Living Green for Climate Change
3. Living Green for Health and Wellbeing,
4. Living Green for Water
5. Living Green for Social Cohesion
6. Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth

• Hyderabad also bagged the award in the ‘Living green for economic recovery and inclusive growth’.
• It has been awarded for its efforts at creating systems and solutions that allow all city residents to overcome economic distress and thrive.
• In this category, the greening of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) was submitted for Hyderabad’s nomination.
• The city was adjourned the grand winner in the overall category for the initiative “Green Garland to the State of Telangana (Telangana Ku Haritha Haram)”.
• It was recognized as the global leader in nature-oriented approaches to city design, function and form.

About Outer Ring Road"

• Outer Ring Road (ORR), officially called the Jawaharlal Nehru Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad is called the “Green Necklace to the State of Telangana”.
• It is a 158 km long 8-lane ring road expressway which encircles Hyderabad.
• It caters to the speed of up to 100 km per hour and eases connectivity between various national highways from Hyderabad to Vijayawada and Warangal along with the state highways.

Implementation:

• The project was implemented by the state government of Andhra Pradesh through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL).

Objective:

• The objectives of the project are as follows:
• Minimizing pollution in the city
• Reducing congestion Providing quicker access to key parts of Hyderabad and various urban nodes outside the city by connecting national highways and state highways.

About AIPH:

• In 1948, following the end of World War II, a group of representatives from the national grower associations of Western Europe came together with the goal of rebuilding the bridges that had been burned by European horticulturists.
• They were motivated by this ambition to form the Association International of Horticulture Producers (AIPH), which laid the groundwork for the current global community that exists today also. 
• The organization strives for a world in which humanity, technology, and nature exist in a healthy and stable equilibrium.

Science and Technology

Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter's X-ray spectrometer 'CLASS: According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the X-ray spectrometer ‘CLASS’ instrument on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter has mapped an abundance of sodium on the moon for the first time.

• Even though the Chandrayaan 2 mission ended tragically on the moon, the scientists are still able to make high and low new discoveries from the lunar surface due to the orbiter that is still operational and is currently in orbit around the moon.

Key Points:

• This is the first attempt to measure sodium on the lunar surface on a global scale using X-ray fluorescent spectra.
• This report has recently been published in 'The Astrophysical Journal Letters'.
• Built at the U R Rao Satellite Centre of ISRO in Bengaluru, CLASS provides clean signatures of the sodium line, due to its high sensitivity and performance.
• Two types of sodium atoms have been found on the Moon’s surface, those that are loosely bound on the surface and those that are part of the minerals.
• External agents such as solar radiation liberate the loosely bound atoms more easily thus acting as a source of the atoms in the lunar exosphere.
• The discovery of sodium's distinctive X-ray line by Chandrayaan-1's X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (C1XS) has opened up the possibility of mapping the amount of sodium on the Moon.
• This could also result in the development of analogous models for Mercury and other airless objects within and outside of our Solar System.

X-Ray Fluorescence:

It is commonly used to study the structure of matter in a non-destructive way.

When the Sun generates a solar flare, a large amount of X-ray radiation falls on the Moon, triggering X-ray fluorescence.

CLASS measures the energy of incoming X-ray photons from the Moon and calculates the total number.

The energy of the photon indicates the atom (for example, sodium atoms emit X-ray photons of 1.04 keV) and the intensity indicates the number of the atom.

Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3):

• This is not the first time India’s lunar mission has made such a discovery.
• India’s maiden lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1 was launched a decade ago.
• It carried a similar instrument named Moon Mineralogy Mapper (or M3) for collecting and detecting surface water on the lunar surface.
• However, the range of detection was between 0.4 to 3 micrometre.
• It was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was not indigenous to ISRO.
• But now, ISRO’s IIRS, which has a higher wavelength and spectral range, permits better accuracy in results.

About Chandrayaan-2 Mission:

• Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• It was successfully launched on July 22nd, 2019 from the Sriharikota range.
• Chandrayaan-2 has new technology and upgraded instrumentation designed for planetary missions in the future.
• It includes an Indian-developed lunar orbiter, lander (known as Vikram), and rover (known as Pragyan).

Components of Chandrayaan-2:

1. Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS): CLASS analyzes the X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectra of the Moon to map out the existence of elements on its surface.
2. Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC 2): This is used to study the surface of the moon in the panchromatic spectral region from orbit with a high spatial resolution of 5 meters.
3. Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM): It measures the rays emitted by the sun and how intense the radiation in those sun rays is.
4. Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC): It captures the landing location from two angles to create DEMs (Digital Elevation Models). The DEMs are then used to look for plausible threats.
5. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR): The radar system is used to measure the thickness and electrical conductivity of the Moon’s bedrock and find water ice inside craters that are always under a shadow.
6. Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS): Maps the distribution of molecular water and hydroxyl (OH) in the northern latitudes of the moon.
7. Dual Frequency Radio Science (DFRS) experiment: It studies the temporal evolution of electron density in the Moon’s ionosphere.
8. Chandra Atmospheric Composition Explorer 2 (ChACE-2): Chace is used to collect atom samples from the atmosphere over the northern latitudes of the Moon.

Tesla’s humanoid robot-Optimus: Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently unveiled the latest prototype of Optimus – a humanoid robot which uses many of the same Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and sensors as their Autopilot driving assistance.

Key Points:

• Optimus has been developed by the American company Tesla.
• The prototype of Optimus was showcased during the annual Tesla AI Day 2022 event.
• The humanoid robot displayed its capacity to carry out basic duties including lifting metal bars, transporting boxes, and watering plants.
• Its main purpose is to replace a human task with a machine.
• The design of the robot mimics the human anatomy, with five independently moving fingers capable of grasping adaptively with high precision.
• This enables it to use tools in an accurate manner.
• This robot has a uniquely designed actuators – a complex set of gears, motors, sensors and controls that act like human muscles.
• There are a total of 6 actuators, which reduces the cost, simplifies the manufacturing process, speed, torque, mass and efficiency.
• Since it is powered by AI software, it has high cognitive ability of perceiving, planning and navigating the world.
• This is significant since other humanoid robot do not have this capacity.
• It was developed within a year, while other similar robots were developed after more than 10 years of efforts.
• This feat was achieved by integrating the technology used for self-driving cars into a humanoid body.
• It is using the same AI technology behind Tesla’s FSD technology (a driver assistance software requiring comparatively less driver input) to guide the robot.
• The robot will be trained by a custom data centre technology called Dojo, which is under development by Tesla.

Note: Dojo is a supercomputer that provides video training using video data obtained from Tesla vehicles.

• The mass production of these robots will cost less than 20,000 USD.

About Optimus:

• Optimus is a humanoid robot that can perform simple tasks like watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting metal bars.
• It has cognitive ability of perceiving, planning and navigating the world.

Sports

ISSF World Championships: Indian men’s air rifle team recently won gold in ISSF World Championships held in in Cairo, Egypt.

Key Highlights:

• The Gold medal was clinched by the Indian trio of Rudranksh Balasaheb Patil, Kiran Ankush Jadhav, and Arjun Babuta in the men's 10-metre air rifle event.

• It was also Patil's second senior world championship gold in his very first outing, having won the individual 10m air rifle event earlier.

• The Indian trio defeated China 16-10 in Cairo to give India its fifth medal in the title match.
• The Indian women’s team of Elavenil Valarivan, Meghana Sajjanar and Mehuli Ghosh beat Germany 17-11 for the bronze.

• The team had missed the gold match by 0.5 point to the USA.

• In the 25-metre standard pistol mixed team junior event, Manvi Jain and Sameer Ghulia won the silver as the duo got beaten 17-3 by Feng Sixuan and Liu Yangpan of China.
• The second Indian team of Payal Khatri and Sahil Dudhane beat Norway pair 16-14 for the bronze medal.
• In air pistol women’s team event, Palak Gulia, Rhythm Sangwan and Yuvika Tomar were beaten to the gold 16-8 by China.

Medals Tally:

• India was second in the medals table with five gold, two silver and five bronze medals.
• China led with 12 gold, six silver and three bronze.
• US was the only other team to win a gold from among 14 countries that have found a place in the medals table so far.

Astana Open: Novak Djokovic recently won Astana Open final to claim 90th ATP title.

Key Highlights:

• Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam champion claimed his 90th ATP title and the fourth of 2022 after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Astana Open in Kazakhstan.
• It was the ninth consecutive match victory for the fourth seed, who guaranteed himself a spot at the 2022 ATP Finals as a result of the win.
• It was the third seeded Stefanos Tsitsipass’ ninth loss in as many ATP Tour 500-level finals that he has participated in.

Key Points - Novak Djokovic:

• The Serb Tel Aviv a week ago, won his first singles tournament since wrapping up a seventh Wimbledon crown and 21st Grand Slam title in July.
• He was banned from the US Open and the entire North American hard court swing due to his unwillingness to be immunized.
• He later returned for Roger Federer's farewell in the Laver Cup team event in London last month.
• Amongst active male players, the 21-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic is only behind Rafael Nadal (92) in terms of the most singles titles.