VISION

 Why in news?

Recently Centre has said that India will expand its vaccination coverage to everyone aged 18 and older from May 1, 2020.

What are the changes in procurement?

• In the first three phases only healthcare workers, frontline workers and those above the age of 45 were vaccinated.
• So the centre procured the entire quantity of vaccines from the manufacturers- Serum Institute of India (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) and distributed it to states.
• The states distributed the stock to government vaccination centres, which administered the vaccine free of cost and to private hospitals that charged recipients Rs 250 per dose.
• From May 1, the supply will be divided into two baskets:

1. 50 per cent for the Centre;
2. 50 per cent for the open market;

• Through the second — non-Government of India — channel state governments, private hospitals, and industries can procure and administer the vaccine.
• Free vaccination would be available at all vaccination centres that receive doses from the Government of India.

What will be the cost of a dose at a private centre?

 What is the issue?

• India’s crude oil production fell by 5.25% and natural gas production by 8.1% in the FY21.
• While Covid-19 related delays are among the key reasons cited, India’s crude oil and natural gas production have been falling consistently since 2011-12, and here is why.

What is the key reason for the falling production?

• Most of India’s crude oil and natural gas production comes from ageing wells that have become less productive over time.
• So, producers would have to invest more in extracting oil and gas from more difficult fields.
• This is done using technologically intensive means such as ultradeepwater fields.

Who are the key players?

 GS SCORE FACT FILE- Geography Indian Soil PDF

1)  International Mother Earth Day: 22 April

•Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April every year. The Day will be celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection. World Earth Day 2021 will mark the 51st Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day.

•The theme of 2021 International Mother Earth Day is Restore Our Earth.

2)  International Girls in ICT Day: 22 April

•International Girls in ICT Day marked annually on the fourth Thursday in April. This year International Girls in ICT Day is observed on 22nd April 2021. International Girls in ICT Day aims to inspire a global movement to increase the representation of girls and women in technology. Today, let’s recommit to the goal of equal access for young women and girls to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

•The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is highlighting the need to promote technology career opportunities for girls and women in the world’s fastest-growing sector.

3)  Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP growth forecast at 10.2% for FY22

•Care Ratings has revised downwards the GDP growth forecast of India to 10.2 per cent in 2021-22 (FY22). Earlier this was estimated between 10.7-10.9 per cent. This cut in the GDP is based on the fact that economic activities are getting affected across the country due to curbs imposed by states amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

4)  ICRA Slashes India’s GDP Forecast by 0.5% to 10.5% in FY22

•The domestic rating agency ICRA has cut the growth estimate of India for 2021-22 by 0.5 per cent on the upper end and now expects the economy to grow 10-10.5 per cent in 2021-22 as against 10-11 per cent estimated earlier. The downward revision in the forecast follows the lockdowns and restrictions which are getting imposed once again due to rising COVID-19 cases.

5)  India elected to 3 bodies of U.N. Economic and Social Council

India has been elected by acclamation, to three bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2022.

•Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)

•Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

•Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP)

6)  Tamil Nadu’s Arjun Kalyan becomes 68th Indian Grandmaster

•Tamil Nadu’s, Arjun Kalyan became India’s 68th Chess Grandmaster when he 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.

7)  Australia announces partnership with India for Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative

•Australia has announced a grant of Rs 81.2 million (AUD 1.4 million) under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). IPOI was proposed by Indian Prime Minister Modi at the East Asia Summit in November 2019 and Australia is co-leading New Delhi in the marine ecology pillar of the initiative.

📰 India again placed at 142nd rank in press freedom

Shankar IAS Target 2021 Polity & International Relations-I PDF

Rau’s IAS Prelims Compass 2021 Indian Economy PDF

1)  World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21 April

•World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed globally on 21 April every year. This day is celebrated to raise awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving with respect to advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals, also known as the “global goals”. The main objective of the day is to encourage people to use new ideas, make new decisions, and do creative thinking. Creativity is what makes the world go ‘round.

2)  National Civil Services Day: 21 April

•In India, ‘Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 every year. It is a day to appreciate the tremendous work done by officers engaged in public administration, in various departments of the central and state governments.

•The Government of India chose April 21 as the National Civil Service Day as on this day the country’s first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the newly appointed Administrative Services Officers in 1947. The historic occasion took place at the Metcalf House in Delhi. In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’.

3)  AP launched 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. This reimbursed the fees for 10.88 lakh students. So far, a total of Rs 4, 879 crores have been disbursed under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme.

4)  Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates first-ever online exhibition on Ramayana

•The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture ( I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel virtually inaugurated the first-ever Online Exhibition on Ramayana, the Epic by Maharishi Valmiki, on the occasion of World Heritage Day 2021.

•The online exhibition has been titled “Rama Katha: The Story of Rama Through Indian Miniatures”. It showcases 49 miniature paintings collections from different art schools of India, from the 17th through the 19th century. The collection of the painting has been taken from National Museum, New Delhi.

5)  Miguel Díaz-Canel to succeed Raúl Castro as the President of Cuba

•Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel has been officially sworn in as the ‘First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’, following the resignation of Raul Castro. The Secretary of the Communist Party is the most powerful position in one party ruling Cuba. Díaz-Canel now holds Cuba’s two most important positions, head of the party and president of the state.

•Raúl Castro announced that he would step down from the key position of the party and hand over the leadership to a younger generation. Díaz-Canel is almost 30 years younger than his predecessor and will now hold Cuba’s two most important positions, head of the party and president of the state. Castro had been in the post since 2011 when he took over from his older brother, Fidel Castro.

6)  India-Germany enter into agreement to prevent plastic waste entering oceans

•The Government of India and Germany have signed an agreement for Technical Cooperation in enhancing practices to prevent plastic from entering the marine environment at a virtual ceremony in New Delhi. The project titled ‘Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment’ will be implemented for a period of three and a half years.

•The outcome of the project is completely in line with the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban focusing on sustainable solid waste management and Prime Minister Modi’s vision to phase out single-use plastic by 2022.

•The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It will be undertaken at the national level (at MoHUA), select states (Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and in the cities of Kanpur, Kochi and Port Blair.

7)  India Ranks 142 in World Press Freedom Index 2021

•India has been placed at 142nd position among 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index 2021, released on April 20, 2021. India was at 142nd position in 2020 as well. Norway has retained its top spot for the fifth year running, followed by Finland and Denmark at second and third place respectively. Eritrea is at the bottom of the index at 180th place.

•The index is published every year by the international journalism not-for-profit body, “Reporters Without Borders (RSF)”, to evaluate the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories.