VISION

1)  India ranks 67th in Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2021

•As per the ‘Global Skills Report 2021’ released by Coursera, India has been ranked 67th overall globally. The report reveals that, overall, India ranks 67th globally, with 38 per cent proficiency, with mid-rankings in each domain, 55th in business and 66th in both technology and data science. Indian learners have high proficiency in digital skills like Cloud Computing (83%) and Machine Learning (52%) & 54% in Mathematical skills. Improvement is needed in digital skills because in Data Analysis and Statistical programming, ranked only at 25% and 15% skills proficiency. But, Indians trail behind in data skills and need to focus on that.

2)  Israel will become the World’s First Mask-Free Country from June 15

•Israel will become the world’s first mask-free country in the Corona period. Here the rule of applying masks in closed places will end from June 15. This was announced by Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. The rule of applying masks outside has already been abolished in the country.

•However, most restrictions related to foreign travel have not yet been lifted. For example, travel to nine countries is still banned. There is a rule of quarantine for travellers coming from these countries. His corona test is also being done.

3)  Weyan village in Bandipora, India’s first to inoculate all adults

•Weyan, a village in district Bandipora (J&K) has become the first village in the country, where the entire population above 18 years has been vaccinated. The vaccination in Weyan village was covered under the J&K model, a 10-point strategy to inoculate everyone who is eligible for the shots at a faster pace.

•The Union territory also achieved 70 per cent vaccination for those in the 45+ age group despite the initial vaccine hesitancy, almost double the national average. The village is located only 28 kilometres away from Bandipora district headquarters, but a distance of 18 kilometres has to be covered by foot as there is no motorable road.

4)  IDFC FIRST Bank launches Customer COVID relief Ghar Ghar Ration Program

•IDFC FIRST Bank has announced the launch of ‘Ghar Ghar Ration’ Program, an employee-funded program for its low-income customers whose livelihoods are affected by COVID-19. The bank has also announced a comprehensive program for the families of employees who unfortunately lost their lives due to COVID-19, and a number of other social responsibility initiatives.

5)  ‘Home in the World’ Book: by Amartya Sen’s memoir

•One of the world’s leading public intellectuals of our time, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has penned his memoir ‘Home in the World’. The book will be published in July by Penguin Random House. In this book, Sen shares how it was Rabindranath Tagore who gave him his name Amartya. He also reminisces the conversations at Calcutta’s famous Coffee House and at Cambridge, and Marx’s, Keynes’ and Arrow’s ideas all of which shaped his views.

6)  Biotechnology company MyLab appoints Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador

•Bollywood superstar, Akshay Kumar has been appointed as the new brand ambassador of biotechnology company Mylab Discovery Solutions. This announcement comes days after the Pune-based firm launched the country’s first COVID-19 self-test kit “CoviSelf”. The partnership with Akshay is aimed at creating awareness for Mylab’s products and kits such as CoviSelf.

7)  Novak Djokovic wins French Open Tennis Title 2021

•Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to lift the French Open title for the second time in his career. Djokovic, with his 19th Grand Slam title, has closed in on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam titles list. Both the players have won 20 Grand Slams each.

•Djokovic has also become the first man in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam twice. (He has won the Australian Open nine times, Wimbledon five times, and the US Open three times.) He has become the first man in 52 years, after Rod Laver, to win all the four Grand Slams twice. Overall, he is the third male tennis player to achieve this unique feat. The third being Roy Emerson.

Vision IAS Prelims 2021 Test 30 Hindi With Solution PDF

 Insights IAS Editorial May 2021 PDF

Next IAS Prelims 2021 Test 14 With Solution PDF

 GS SCORE GIST OF INDIA YEAR BOOK 2021 PDF

 UPSC Civil Services Prelims exam pattern includes CSAT paper which carries 80 questions with a weightage of 200 marks. Being a qualifying exam, aspirants usually overlook its importance. In this article, we have provided effective steps that will help to prepare for the CSAT paper.

UPSC Civil Services (Prelims) 2021 - CSAT Syllabus

Before beginning your preparation it is necessary that you go through the syllabus for the CSAT paper. The CSAT paper syllabus is broadly divided into the following categories:

1.  Reading Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision making and problem-solving ability
5. General mental ability

One of the most tricky areas of CSAT paper is comprehension while Basic numeracy, General Mental Ability, and Logical reasoning are of higher difficulty and may take time to solve if not practiced. Given the uncertainty of the CSAT paper and the low cut-off, aspirants can follow the below-mentioned tricks to qualify the exam.

Tips to Prepare for the UPSC IAS Prelims CSAT Paper

 Devote your maximum time for the preparation of your GS Paper I but allot a one hour slot for the preparation of GS Paper-II I;e CSAT paper. As compared to Paper I, the CSAT is defined and can easily be prepared if you dedicate one hour for its preparation daily. 

★ Identify your Weakest Area - For identifying your weakest subject, you can solve previous year papers of UPSC Civil Service Exams. This will not only help you in the practice but also know your strong and weak areas. 

★ Time Management - While attempting the practice papers it is necessary that you take into consideration the time you spend in solving each question. One should practice more to reduce the average time spent on solving a question.

★ Identify your Strong Subjects - It is recommended that once a candidate knows his strong subjects, he/she should solve questions from that section first. This will not only help them feel confident about their preparation but also assess their performance and not panic if stuck on a tricky question. 

Strategy to Prepare Comprehension Section

 Insights IAS Current Affairs May 2021 PDF

1)  World Day Against Child Labour: 12 June

•World Day Against Child Labour is observed globally on 12th June every year. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are about 152 million children globally who are engaged in child labour, 72 million of whom are in hazardous work. This year’s World Day Against Child Labour focuses on action taken for the 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.

•The theme of this year’s World Day Against Child Labour is Act now: End child labour!. It is the first World Day since the universal ratification of the ILO’s Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and takes place at a time when the COVID-19 crisis threatens to reverse years of progress in tackling the problem.

2)  Ex-Mongolian prime minister Khurelsukh won presidential election

•Former Mongolian Prime Minister, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh became the country’s sixth democratically elected president, further consolidating the power of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) with a landslide victory. With 99.7% of votes counted overnight, Khurelsukh’s tally had reached 821,136, or 68% of the total, the largest share of the vote since the democratic era began in 1990.

•Khurelsukh will replace incumbent Khaltmaa Battulga, who was denied an opportunity to seek re-election following controversial changes to Mongolia’s constitution that restricted presidents to one term in office.

3)  India’s Nagraj Adiga elected in International Association of Ultrarunners Council

•India’s Nagraj Adiga has been elected as the Asia-Oceania Representative at the recently concluded 2021 International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) Congress at which the IAU council elections were held. Adiga works closely with the Athletics Federation of India and with various Government bodies to promote health, fitness, and encourage budding sportspersons.

4)  DBS tops Forbes ‘World’s Best Banks’ list in India

•DBS Bank has been named by Forbes in their list of World’s Best Banks 2021. DBS was ranked #1 out of 30 domestic and international banks in India for the second consecutive year. This is the third edition of the ‘World’s Best Banks’ list by Forbes, conducted in partnership with market research firm Statista. Over 43,000 banking customers across the globe were surveyed on their current and former banking relationships. The customer survey rated banks on general satisfaction and key attributes like trust, digital services, financial advice, and fees.

5)  AISHE 2019-20 report released by Union Education Minister

•All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20 report has been released by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. As per AISHE in the last five years (2015-16 to 2019-20), student enrolment has grown by 11.4%. As per AISHE, female enrolment in Higher Education has increased by 18.2% from 2015-16 to 2019-20. AISHE 2019-20 is the 10 in the series of All India Survey on Higher Education. Department of Higher Education releases it annually.

6)  SBI launches Kavach Personal Loan for Covid-19 patients

•State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a collateral-free “Kavach Personal Loan” to enable its customers to meet medical expenses of self and family members for Covid treatment. Under this scheme, customers can avail of loans up to ₹5 lakhs at an effective interest rate of 8.5 per cent per annum for 60 months, which is inclusive of three months moratorium.

•This loan product will also be part of the Covid loan book being created by banks as per the Reserve Bank of India’s Covid relief measures. The loan will also cover reimbursement of Covid related medical expenses already incurred.

7)  Patiala to host Indian Grand Prix 4

•The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), announced that the Indian Grand Prix 4 will be held on June 21 at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. The decision to host the domestic events was made to give Indian athletes the maximum chance to qualify for Tokyo. India’s star sprinters Dutee Chand & Hima Das are expected to participate in the fourth Indian GP of 2021. National Inter-State Athletics Championships will be held at the same venue from June 25.

 •Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has changed some rules regarding cash withdrawal from automated teller machine (ATM). These ATM cash withdrawal rule changes include higher charges on transactions beyond the free permissible limit, a new free ATM transaction limit and a rise in interchange fee.

The new ATM charges as defined by RBI are as under:

•Free cash withdrawal limit from own bank: Bank customers can now do five free financial and non-financial transactions every month from their own bank ATMs.

•Free ATM transaction limit from other banks: ATM cardholders can do three free financial and non-financial transactions in metro centres while five in the non-metro transaction from other bank ATMs

•Charges on ATM cash withdrawal beyond the free limit: RBI allowed banks to increase charges on ATM transactions beyond the free ATM transaction limit.

•Rise in interchange fee: Interchange fee per transaction changed from Rs 15 to Rs 17 for financial transactions while from Rs 5 to Rs 6 for non-financial transactions in effect from August 1, 2021.

•New charges on ATM withdrawal beyond the free transaction limit: Bank customer will have to pay Rs 21 (currently it is Rs 20) for each ATM cash withdrawal beyond the free transaction limit in effect from January 1, 2022.

Raus IAS Focus Magazine June 2021 PDF

📰 How will food reach migrant labourers without ration cards, asks Supreme Court