VISION

1) Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050

•Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Prime Minister stated he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society.

•Suga emphasized the need to shift away from fossil fuels to counter climate change as an opportunity rather than a burden. As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per cent of its energy requirements come from fossil fuels.

2) Indian Army launches indigenous mobile application SAI

•The Indian Army has launched a secured messaging application platform named ‘Secure Application for the Internet’ (SAI). This mobile application for Android will support end-to-end secure voice, text and video calling services. This application is similar to applications like Telegram and WhatsApp.

3) Yashvardhan K. Sinha appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner

•Government of India has approved the name of Former Foreign Service officer, Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as the new Chief Information Commissioner. He was already the Information Commissioner and was also the most senior. The post of CIC chairman had been vacant for several months after Bimal Zulka retired.

4) IIT Kanpur, ASI sign MoU with Italian institutes for restoration of monuments

•The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) and the Archaeological Survey of India have signed an agreement with two institutions from Italy, seeking restoration and protection of historical monuments.

5) Anzar Mustaeen Ali wins special prize in Global Art Competition

A six-year-old Bangladeshi boy, Anzar Mustaeen Ali won a special prize of USD 1000 for his artwork in the global art competition organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). The ICCR had launched a global painting competition named ‘United Against CORONA- Express through Art’ which attracted 8000 artwork entries from around the world. After the first round of competition 210 artworks were shortlisted.

The final jury evaluated and decided the winners from each category such as Indian and Foreign, Professional/Amateur/Children in four different sections:

•Contemporary Art

•Folk and Tribal Art

•Cartoons and Illustrations

•Digital and New Age Art

6) NASA’s SOFIA discovers water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

•Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy suggest there could be much more water than previously thought, including ice stored in permanently shadowed “cold traps” at lunar polar regions. Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before — six microns instead of three. This allowed them to distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water.

•Previous research has found indications of water by scanning the surface, but these were unable to distinguish between water (H2O) and hydroxyl, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom. But a new study provides further chemical proof that the Moon holds molecular water, even in sunlit areas.

📰 Gaps in learning: On rural students and the pandemic

1) PM Modi Inaugurates 4th edition of India Energy Forum

•PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 4th India Energy Forum by CERAWeek organised by HIS Markit. The theme of this edition is “India’s Energy Future in a World of Change”. India is the third-largest and the fastest-growing aviation market in terms of domestic aviation and Indian carriers are projected to increase their fleet size from 600 to 1200 by 2024.

•According to PM, India’s Energy Plan aims to ensure energy justice while fully following India’s global commitments for sustainable growth. This means more energy is needed to improve the lives of Indians with a smaller carbon footprint. He envisioned India’s energy sector to be growth-centric, industry-friendly and environmentally conscious.

2) Odisha CM launches ‘Sumangal’ & Student Scholarship web portals

•Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched two web portals named ‘Odisha State Scholarship Portal’ and ‘Sumangal Portal’. The former portal is to help eligible students of the state to avail scholarship benefits in a seamless and transparent manner, while the latter one is to help people avail inter-caste marriage incentives.

3) Kerala becomes the first state to fix floor price for vegetables

•Kerala becomes the first state in the country to fix the floor price for vegetables. The floor price will be 20 per cent above the production cost of the vegetable. Even if the market price goes below the floor price, the product will be procured at the floor price from the farmers. This is the first time in the country that the floor price is being fixed for vegetables produced in the state.

4) Young Advocates Welfare Fund launched in Tamil Nadu

•The Young Advocates Welfare Fund has been launched in Tamil Nadu. The Young Advocates Welfare Scheme is aimed at helping such fresh candidates to withstand the initial challenges. It provides monthly financial assistance of three thousand rupees each for two years to the lawyers who just come out of law colleges.

•Normally a fresher from law colleges takes three to four years to begin practice as an advocate in the court as the registration in the Bar Council, and the mandatory practicing under a senior advocate takes time. Unable to sustain themselves during the initial period, many from poor and rural backgrounds shifted their profession.

5) Vice President launches virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020

•Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu has launched the virtual festival of “Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance” organised by Natya Tarangini in partnership with the United Nations. Natya Tarangini has been organising this for the past 23 years.

•This dance and music festival as the normal life has been disrupted by lockdowns, economic downturns and lack of social interaction caused by the pandemic. It may be noted that this festival has been organized to coincide with the World Day for Audio-visual Heritage.

6) A book titled “Night of the Restless Spirits” authored by Sarbpreet Singh

•A book titled “Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from 1984″ authored by Sarbpreet Singh. The author Sarbpreet Singh’s recounts the Sikh massacre of 1984 in this book. The book is a fictionalised version of real happenings comprising just eight chapters. It shows the events of 1984 through the prism of many lives & impact on Sikhs. The book is published by Penguin Publication.

7) India Post, US Postal Service sign pact for electronic exchange of customs

•Indian Posts & US Postal Service entered into an agreement for the electronic exchange of customs data related to postal shipments. It will enable to transmit & receive electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival.