Comprehensive Current affairs 8 March 2021

 1.     QS World University Rankings 2021.

Three Indian Institutes of Technology have entered the prestigious group of the top 100 engineering institutes with IIT-Bombay grabbing the best-ever 49th position in the engineering and technology category followed by IIT Delhi (54) and IIT Madras (94). MIT, USA has retained its top position.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore — that secured number one position in the NIRF 2020 — is placed at the 92nd spot for natural sciences, followed by IIT Bombay (114), IIT Madras (187), and IIT Delhi (210), as per the data released by QS.

QS World University Rankings by subject calculate performance based on four parameters:

·        academic reputation,

·        employer reputation,

·        research impact (citations per paper) and

·        the productivity of an institution’s research faculty.

2.     National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive.

Under the scheme, development of Maa Bamleshwari Devi Temple, Dongargarh, Chhattisgarh was approved.

PRASHAD is a Central Sector Scheme launched by Ministry ofTourism in 2014-15 with objective of integrated development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations.

Activities under scheme include:

·        Infrastructure development,

·        Last mile connectivity,

·        ATM/ Money exchange,

·        Parking,

·        Drinking water,

·        First aid centers,

·        Eco-friendly modes of transport,

·        Internet connectivity.

3.     India - Sweden Virtual Summit

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the King-dom of Sweden H.E. Stefan Löfven held a Virtual Summit where they discussed bilateral issues and other regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

The Prime Minister fondly recalled his 2018 visit to Sweden for the first India-Nordic Summit, and the India visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden in December, 2019.

The two leaders reviewed the extensive ongoing engagement between India and Sweden, and expressed satisfaction at the implementation of the Joint Action Plan and Joint Innovation Partnership agreed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sweden in 2018.

Prime Minister Modi welcomed Sweden’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The leaders also noted the growing member-ship of the India-Sweden joint initiative – the Leadership Group on Indus-try Transition (LeadIT) that was launched during the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019 in New York.

4.     Marine Spatial Planning.

India and Norway agree to conduct marine spatial planning (MSP) in Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

MSP is a process of analyzing and allocating spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives.

MSP initiative will be implemented by Ministry of Earth Sciences and Norwegian Environment Agency through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.

Earlier, National Centre for Coastal Research had developed coastal management plans for Chennai, Goa,and Gulf of Kachchh which proved very successful.

5.     NH – 248BB .

The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways reviewed the progress of India’s first grade separated urban expressway, Dwarka Expressway (NH – 248BB).

The 29-kilometre long Expressway, being constructed under the Bharatmala Project and with a cost of Rs8,662 crore, would be completed before the Independence Day next year.

Being built in four packages, total length of the Expressway is 29 kilometres out of which 18.9 kilometre length falls in Haryana while remaining 10.1 kilometre length is in Delhi. It starts from Shiv-Murti on National Highway-8 and ends near KherkiDaula Toll Plaza.

Delhi-Gurugram section of National Highway-8, a part of Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-Mumbai arm of Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), is presently carrying traffic of over three lakh Passenger Car Units (PCUs), which is much beyond design capacity of this 8-lane highway, leading to severe congestion and with the construction of the present project, 50 to 60 per cent traffic on National Highway-8 will be reduced.

Significance:

It will be the first-ever elevated Urban Expressway in India and will immensely help reducing the air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

The Dwarka Expressway would also be the first instance of a project where Tree Plantation of approximately 12,000 trees has been undertaken, keeping protection of the environment in view

This will have longest (3.6 kilometre) and widest (8 lane) Urban Road Tunnel in India. The project’s road network will also comprise of four levels, i.e., tunnel / underpass, at-grade road, elevated flyover and flyover above flyover.

It will also comprise India’s first 9-kilometre long 8-lane flyover (34-metre wide) on single pier with 6-lane service roads.

There will be a fully automated tolling system with 22 lanes toll plaza. The entire project will be equipped with Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).

6.     Information Technology(IT) Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules,2021.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has clarified that Part III of rules are administered by Ministry itself and powers have not been delegated to State Governments.

Part III of rules prescribes age-based classification and a three-tier grievance redress system mechanism which includes an oversight mechanism of government at the third level.

Rules were recently notified under IT Act, 2000 to regulate digital news and current affairs and publishers of online curated content (OTT platforms).

Comprehensive Current affairs 5 March 2021

Sugamya Bharat App

Union Minister for Social justice and Empowerment will virtually launch Sugamya Bharat App.

The App have been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

A Crowdsourcing Mobile Application is a means for sensitising and enhancing accessibility in the 3 pillars of the Accessible India Campaign i.e. built environment, transportation sector and ICT ecosystem in India.

The app provides for five main features, 4 of which are directly related to enhancing accessibility, while the fifth is a special feature meant only for Divyangjan for COVID related issues.

The accessibility related features are:

1.      The registration of complaints of inaccessibility across the 3 broad pillars of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan.

2.      Positive feedback of examples and best practices worth emulating being shared by people as jan-bhagidhari; Departmental updates.

3.      Guidelines and circulars related to accessibility.

Features:

The Sugamya Bharat App is a simple to use Mobile App with an easy registration process, requiring only 3 mandatory fields, namely, Name, Mobile number and Email-id.

Registered users can raise issues related to accessibility being faced. The App has been provided with several user-friendly features like easy drop-down menus, videos in Hindi and English, along

with sign language interpretation have been added demonstrating the process of registration and uploading complaints with photographs.

The App is made accessible for ease of use for persons with disabilities also with features such as font size adjustment, color contrasting option, text to speech, and having an integrated screen reader in Hindi and English.

It is available in 10 regional languages, namely, Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Odia, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Malayalam.

The App also has provision of easy photo uploads with geotagging option of the premise where accessibility intervention is required.

The App has provision for providing notifications to the users at the time of registration, regular status updates as well as at the time of resolution and closure of the complaint.

Land Ports Authority Of India.

The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has celebrated its 9th Foundation Day on 01 March 2021.

LPAI is a statutory body under Ministry of Home Affairs, to develop, sanitize and manage facilities for cross-border movement of passengers and goods at designated points along the international borders of India.

Key functions:

To address security imperatives at integrated check posts (ICP).

Construct roads, terminals and ancillary buildings at ICP.

Provide appropriate space and facilities for immigration, customs, security, taxation authorities, animaland plant quarantine, warehouses, cargo etc.

 

 

 

Pompeii

Archaeologists working at Pompeii have announced the discovery of a large ceremonial chariot, found with four wheels, its iron components, bronze and tin decorations, mineralised wood remains, and imprints of organic materials.

The excavation of the chariot

It is likely that the chariot was used as a transport vehicle by Roman elites during various ceremonies.

This chariot is “entirely unique in Italy” –– because of its state of preservation, and because it is not a chariot used for agricultural products or the activities of daily life.

Background:

Pompeii was a Roman town in Southern Italy’s Campania region situated along the Bay of Naples. The town was completely buried by volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, over 2,000 years ago.

Arktika-M.

Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M.

It is the country’s first Arctic monitoring satellite to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic region.

The Arctic has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average over the last three decades.

This opens up opportunities for huge oil and gas reserves that are being eyed by countries including the United States, Russia, Canada etc.

Revision in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

The NITI Aayog recently circulated a discussion paper on a proposed revision in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

 

Under Schedule-I of the Act, these subsidised prices were fixed for “a period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act”. While different states began implementing the Act at different dates, the deemed date of its coming into effect is July 5, 2013, and the three-year period was therefore completed on July 5, 2016.

The NFSA provides a legal right to persons belonging to “eligible households” to receive foodgrains at subsidised price– rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Rs 1/kg — under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

These are called central issue prices (CIPs).

A revision of CIPs is one of the issues that have been discussed. The other issues are updating of the population coverage under the NFSA, and beneficiary identification criteria.

Under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act, the term “eligible households” comprises two categories — “priority households”, and families covered by the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

Priority households are entitled to receive 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month, whereas AAY households are entitled to 35 kg per month at the same prices.

NITI Aayog proposal:

The discussion has been held under the chairmanship of Prof Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog.

The NITI Aayog has suggested that the national rural and urban coverage ratio be reduced from the existing 75-50 to 60-40.

To make these changes in the law, the government will have to amend subsection (2) of Section 3 of the NFSA. For this, it will require parliamentary approval.

Besides the Food Ministry and the NITI Aayog, discussions on the proposed revisions include the Chief Economic Adviser and top officers of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

 

Implication of the revision for the Centre and the states:

If the national coverage ratio is revised downward, the Centre can save up to Rs 47,229 crore (as estimated by the NITI Aayog paper). However, the move may be opposed by some of the states.

On the other hand, if the rural-urban coverage ratio remains at 75-50, then the total number of people covered will increase from the existing 81.35 crore to 89.52 crore —an increase of 8.17 crore.

This estimate by the NITI Aayog is based on the projected 2020 population, and, according to the paper, will result in an additional subsidy requirement of Rs 14,800 crore.

Udaipur Science Centre.

The Udaipur Science Centre, at Udaipur, Tripura was dedicated to the people by the Governor of Tripura.

Udaipur Science Centre is the 22nd Science Centre which has been developed by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and handed over to the State Governments under the Ministry of Culture’s Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science.

This Science Centre has been developed at a cost of Rs 6.00 crore funded jointly by Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and Dept. of Science, Technology & Environment, Government of Tripura.

With this; NCSM has now set-up science centres in all the north eastern states.

Comprehensive Current affairs 4 March 2021

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.

Recently, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship was awarded to a distinguished scholar, writer, translator and critic,Professor Velcheru Narayana Rao.

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is the highest literary honour in the country awarded by Sahitya Akademi.

Sahitya Akademiis an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture working to promote literature in the languages of India including English.

This honour is reserved for 'the immortals of literature' and limited to 21 only at any given time.

Sahitya Akademi has also instituted a Premchand Fellowship named after Premchand during his 125thBirth Anniversary in 2005.

Custodian of Enemy Properties for India.

The Centre has identified over 3,000 new enemy properties left behind by the Chinese and Pakistani nationals after the India-China war in 1962 and Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971.

According to government officials, the number of enemy properties vested with the Custodian of Enemy Properties for India (CEPI) has risen to 12,426 from 9,406.

Enemy property/alien properties refers to property or assets held or managed on behalf of an enemy subject or an enemy company.

It also refers to assets left behind by individuals who migrated to Pakistan or China and are no longer citizens of India.

Enemy Property Act 1968 was enacted to deal with such properties.

Administration of enemy properties is done by Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), underMinistry of Home Affairs.

Caracal.

The National Board for Wildlife and Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change last month included the caracal in the list of critically endangered species.

It is medium-sized wildcat found in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Its earliest evidence in subcontinent comes from a fossil dating back to Indus Valley civilisation.

It is also found in Africa, Middle East, Central and South Asia. While it flourishes in parts of Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.

It finds mention in Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama, as a hunting animal in the time of Akbar.

IUCN lists Caracals under Least concern due to large numbers in Africa.

Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021.

Inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister the Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 is underway at Noida Haat.It will continue till 14th March.

The fair remains open from 11 AM to 8 PM daily. 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.

The Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women in Self Help Groups (SHGs). He said these SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life.

India-Russia explore partnership with Asean as part of Indo-Pacific construct.

 India and Russia have decided to explore a partnership in the Indo-Pacific region with special focus on the Asean region and SE Asia.

It is happening the following the recent senior-level consultations led by the foreign secretary in Moscow.

New Delhi and Moscow are in talks to join hands with Asean-related bodies as part of their emerging Indo-Pacific partnership besides widening their connectivity and business links in East Asia and North-East Asia.

It is understood that the Russian side is receptive to India’s suggestions and is expected to explore bilateral partnership in the Asean with focus on post-pandemic economic re-building.

India has been emphasising on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and as part of its inclusivity concept views Russia as a Pacific power and a key player in the Indo-Pacific region.

Global Association for Physicians of Indian Origin.

Union Minister for Health communicated the Global Indian Physicians Congress, organised by the Global Association for Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), through virtual conference.

GAPIO is a non-profit organization established in 2011.

It is founded by Padma Vibhushan, Dr.Prathap C Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group and Founder President of GAPIO along with Dr.Sanku Rao – Past President of AAPI, USA and Dr. Ramesh Mehta – President of BAPIO, UK.

The aim of GAPIO is to bring together 1.4 million physicians of Indian origin in the world on one professional platform.

GAPIO currently has presence in 53 countries. Dr. Anupam Sibal is the current President of GAPIO.

India, China foreign ministers to set up hotline.

The foreign ministers of India and China have agreed to establish a new hotline to ensure “timely communication” in the wake of last year's border crisis, but differed sharply on the way forward to restore relations.

Border crisis impact

Underlining how both sides have viewed differently the impact of the border crisis on the broader relationship, Mr. Wang said “there has been some wavering and back-pedalling in India's China policy”, because of which “practical cooperation between the two countries has been affected.”

India’s stand.

India made it clear to China that it is not realistic to insulate the relationship from the boundary crisis, and emphasised that in its view, peace on the border is a prerequisite for the rest of the relationship to develop.

China, however, has hit out at India’s economic measures, such as banning Chinese apps and stricter curbs on investment following last year’s tensions, viewing India’s “whole of government” approach as going against a past consensus of containing differences while cooperating elsewhere.

Ketoprofen.

Recently, Bangladesh banned painkiller ketoprofen.

It became the first country to ban any of the drugs now known to be toxic to vultures since the previous veterinary diclofenac ban more than 10 years ago.

Ketoprofen is painkiller which is used widely to treat the cattle.

Diclofenac and ketoprofen are Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) which are the primary threats to the vultures of South Asia and responsible for the catastrophic 99.9% declines of white-rumped vultures in the region.

In India, diclofenac drug was banned by the Drug Controller General of India in 2006.

Mobile Train Radio Communication .

Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) System commissioned first time in Western Railway Trainsin Mumbai.

The Mobile Train Radio Communication system is an effective and a technologically advanced communication system which can play an intrinsic role in preventing train accidents and reducing delays through effective communication.

It facilitates an instant and constant interaction of train crew with the Control Centre and the Station Master.

MRTC acts in a similar way to that of Air traffic control (ARC) for aircrafts.

The system will monitor, track and aid in communication between the trains and the control room thereby ensuring smooth movement of rakes as well as help in preventing adverse events

Bond yield.

Rising yields on government securities or bonds in the United States and India have triggered concern over the negative impact on other asset classes, especially stock markets, and even gold.

The yield on 10-year bonds in India moved up from the recent low of 5.76% to 6.20% in line with the rise in US yields, sending jitters through the stock market, where the benchmark Sensex fell 2,300 points last week.

Why do bond yields rise?

Bond yield is the return an investor gets on that bond or on a particular government security.

The major factors affecting the yield is the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India, especially the course of interest rates, the fiscal position of the government and its borrowing programme, global markets, economy, and inflation.

A fall in interest rates makes bond prices rise, and bond yields fall — and rising interest rates cause bond prices to fall, and bond yields to rise.

In short, a rise in bond yields means interest rates in the monetary system have fallen, and the returns for investors (those who invested in bonds and govt securities) have declined.

Bond yields play a big role in foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flow. Traditionally, when bond yields rise in the US, FPIs move out of Indian equities.

Also, it has been seen that when the bond yield in India goes up, it results in capital outflows from equities and into debt.

Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021.

Government notifies Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

The rules have been framed in exercise of powers under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011.

Part- II of these Rules shall be administered by Ministry of Electronics and IT, while Part-III relating to Code of Ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Salient features:

Due Diligence to Be Followed by Intermediaries: The Rules prescribe due diligence that must be followed by intermediaries, including social media intermediaries. In case, due diligence is not followed by the intermediary, safe harbour provisions will not apply to them.

Grievance Redressal Mechanism: The Rules seek to empower the users by mandating the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving resolving complaints from the users or victims.

Ensuring Online Safety and Dignity of Users, Especially Women Users: Intermediaries shall remove or disable access withing 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents that exposes the

private areas of individuals, show such individuals in full or partial nudity or in sexual act or is in the nature of impersonation including morphed images etc.

Two Categories of Social Media Intermediaries: To encourage innovations and enable growth of new social media intermediaries without subjecting smaller platforms to significant compliance requirement, the Rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries.

The Rules will come in effect from the date of their publication in the gazette, except for the additional due diligence for significant social media intermediaries, which shall come in effect 3 months after publication of these Rules.

TLR7/8 .

The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT)played a role in the development of Covexin, the indigenous vaccine developed by city-based Bharat Biotech International Limited.

The vaccine is a highly purified, whole virion, inactivated SARS-CoV2.

The vaccine has been formulated with ‘Algel-IMDG’, which contains chemically absorbed TLR7/8 as an agonist or an adjuvant onto aluminium hydroxide gel to generate the requisite type of immune responses without damaging the body.

The firm had approached the IICT to develop the synthetic route for the adjuvant molecule TLR 7/8 with indigenous chemicals at an affordable price and with highest purity.

This indigenously developed molecule aided Bharat Biotech to scale up the production of the adjuvant.