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Sunday, April 25, 2021

GS SCORE Yearly Compilation Geography Mapping Landlocked Country PDF

15:31

GS SCORE Yearly Compilation Geography Mapping Landlocked Country PDF

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Insights IAS Prelims 2021 Exclusive Science & Technology PDF

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 Insights IAS Prelims 2021 Exclusive Science & Technology PDF

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Saturday, April 24, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 24th April 2021

16:14

 


1)  National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April

•Nation celebrates National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April every year. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organizes the National Panchayati Raj day or the National Local Self Government Day. India celebrates the first National Panchayati Raj Day or the National Local Government Day on April 2010.


2)  World Day for Laboratory Animals : 24 April

•The World Day For Animals In Laboratories (WDAIL); also known as World Lab Animal Day or World Day for Laboratory Animals, is observed every year on 24 April. The day was instituted in 1979 by the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), as an “international day of commemoration” for animals in laboratories.


•WDAIL aims to end the suffering of animals in laboratories around the world and promote their replacement with advanced scientific non-animal techniques. Apart from this, the “World Week for Animals In Laboratories” (Lab Animal Week) is celebrated from April 20 to 26.


3)  World Veterinary Day 2021: 24 April

•The World Veterinary Day is observed on the Fourth Saturday of April every year. In 2021, the day falls on April 24, 2021. The theme of the 2021 World Veterinary Day is ‘Veterinarian response to the COVID-19 crisis.’ The day was created by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000 to celebrate the contributions of veterinarians to the health of animals and society.


4)  International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace

•The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace observed globally on 24 April. ‘International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace’ was first observed by the United Nations (UN) on April 24, 2019. The day aims to spread knowledge about the advantages of multilateralism and diplomacy for peace, including through educational and public awareness-raising activities.


•The Assembly proclaimed the day while considering that preserving the values of multilateralism and international cooperation is fundamental to promote and support the three pillars of the UN – Peace and Security, Development and Human Rights. The Day is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes among countries through peaceful means.


5)  Aakash Ranison launches his E-Book “Climate Change Explained – For One And All”

•The climate activist-author, Aakash Ranison has come out with a new e-book titled “Climate Change Explained – for one and all”, on the occasion of Earth Day. Through the e-book, the author explains the impact of climate change and aims to motivate readers to reduce its outcome with the help of simple sustainable solutions.


•The book is a mix of facts, data, and information about climate change, having topics like “Greenhouse effect, global warming, Carbon footprint” and their effects on earth in the near future.


6)  Rumana Sinha Sehgal won the Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021

•Rumana Sinha Sehgal, Software engineer turned entrepreneur from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 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.

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The HINDU Notes – 24th April 2021

16:05

 


📰 Prevalence of U.K. variant rises in Delhi

Proportion has risen from 28% in March to 50% last week in genome sequencing.

•The proportion of the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7) in genome samples sequenced from COVID cases in Delhi has risen from 28% in the second week of March to the 50% in the last week, Dr. Sujeet Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in a webinar on Friday.

•The U.K. variant has a mutation N501Y that is reported to increase the transmission of the virus leading to more numbers and a knock-on consequence of increasing disease severity and mortality.

•Speaking at the webinar organised by the Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Singh said there was also a rise in the Indian variant (B.1.617), that has two mutations associated with increased efficacy and decreasing the potency of vaccines.

•However while the relative proportion of known variants of concern, or VoC, (the U.K., South Africa, Brazil variants) is around 11%, investigations were still on to determine to what extent they were responsible for the severity of disease. New Delhi is undergoing an unprecedented surge in it fourth wave with a rise in instances of people manifesting breathlessness and a demand for oxygen cylinders and beds that has led to health systems being overwhelmed.

•Of 438 sequences of the VOCs analysed in Delhi, 415 exhibited the U.K. strain and 23 the South Africa strain. Delhi was among the States, along with Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat where instances of the U.K. strain in the wider community far outnumbered those detected among international travellers and their contacts.

•For instance, in Delhi, there were 324 instances of the U.K. strain in the “community” as opposed to 91 among travellers and their contacts (T&C). In Gujarat, it was 18 in T&C and 42 in the community and in Chhattisgarh there was only 1 case in the T&C as opposed to 14 in the community. Such numbers weren’t yet present for the Brazilian and South African strains. Several of these states are showing unprecedented spikes.

•The comparative data was presented by Dr. Singh.

•So far about 15,000 genomes had been sequenced, which is about 1% of India's coronavirus caseload.

•Dr. Anurag Agrawal, Director, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), said the concern with the Indian variants was that they possessed two mutations — E484K and L245R — that together would increase the likelihood of a wider range of antibodies being unable to counter the virus.

•“However immunity also includes a cellular level response that can generate cross reactivity and so we can still expect, a good antibody response which is why all vaccines, despite the variant, will be fairly protective (against disease),” he said.

•Dr. Priya Abraham, Director, ICMR-National Institute of Virology said the virus would continue to mutate and the best defence would be to continue following ‘COVID appropriate behaviour' and vaccinate at the earliest. She said that 90% of the RT-PCR tests being deployed were accurate. However, there were challenges in testing with several trained staff too testing positive and affecting the quality of testing and analysis, she added.

•Virologist Shahid Jameel, and head of the advisory group to INSACOG, who was moderating the webinar, said there was “preliminary” information that both Covaxin and Covishield appeared to be effective against the Indian variant. He was referring to a report by the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.

•“Science is a process that calls for evidence based policy making and not policy based evidence making. Three 'T's are needed: Truth, Transparency and Trust. Truth leads to transparency leads to trust,” he said.

📰 Centre to give 5 kg foodgrains free to poor

PM calls upon States to take a unified approach in dealing with resource scarcities.

•The Union government announced that 5 kg of food grains would be provided to 80 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for the months of May and June as many States were undergoing curfews and the high rates of coronavirus infections had led to a slowdown in economic activity.

•The announcement came on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Chief Ministers, especially of States with high COVID-19 case burden. The outlay for the free grain programme has been pegged at ₹26,000 crore.

•Mr. Modi assured States that all resources, including the Indian Railways and the Indian Air Force (IAF), were being deployed to reach oxygen to different corners of the country. The PM asked States to be strict with curbing the hoarding and black marketing of essential drugs and injections as COVID-19 cases soared in India. He also said that the Central government would be providing vaccines against COVID-19 acquired by it to the States for free, as in the past.

•The meeting with Chief Ministers, followed by Mr. Modi’s meeting with oxygen manufacturers, the fourth such review of oxygen availability in the last week, assumes significance with daily new cases going past the 3.5 lakh mark on Friday.

•According to a statement released after the meeting with Chief Ministers, Mr. Modi had called for a unified approach in dealing with resource scarcities, which he said were being addressed. He stated that it was through such an approach during the first wave that India could tackle the first outbreak of COVID-19.

•The PM said that the IAF was flying in empty tankers for oxygen to reduce turnaround time on supplies. The Railways had been roped in to run ‘Oxygen Express’ trains. He urged States fighting for scarce oxygen to set up coordination teams to allow the movement of tankers across State borders.

•Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which are now facing swiftly rising COVID-19 cases, were highlighted as an area of concern. Mr. Modi also expressed grief at the accidents that had taken place in hospitals, adding that hospital staff had to be more aware of safety protocols.

CMs interject

•When Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal live streamed his interjection in the meeting, Mr. Modi admonished him for violating the protocol of closed-door meetings. Mr. Kejriwal’s office later released a statement expressing regret, saying the live streaming was done under the impression that it was allowed as it had been done in previous meetings.

•West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, going head-to-head with the BJP in the Assembly polls in her State, absented herself from the meeting for the second successive time.

•Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel made a strong demand that vaccines should be provided at the same rates for both the Centre and the States.

•Serum Institute of India has announced that it would be providing the Covishield vaccine, which it currently sells to the Centre at ₹150-200 per dose, at ₹400 per dose to State governments and ₹600 per dose to private entities.

•“Please provide an action plan for vaccine availability to the States for running vaccination drive for those above 18 years of age from May 1,” Mr. Baghel at the meeting.

📰 Zydus Cadila’s antiviral drug gets emergency use nod

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GS Score Weekly Current Affairs April 2021 Week 03 PDF

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GS Score Weekly Current Affairs April 2021 Week 03 PDF

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GS SCORE FACT FILE- Major Industrial Regions of India PDF

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GS SCORE FACT FILE- Major Industrial Regions of India PDF

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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 24.04.2021

08:36
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Friday, April 23, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 23rd April 2021

19:42

 


1)  World Book and Copyright Day: 23 April

•The World Book and Copyright Day (also known as ‘International Day of the Book’ and ‘World Book Day’), is an annual event organized on April 23 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. April 23 is chosen because it marks the birth and death of several prominent authors. For instance, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Josep Pla died on April 23 and Manuel Mejia Vallejo and Maurice Druon were born on April 23.


2)  UN English Language Day & UN Spanish Language Day

•The UN English Language Day and UN Spanish Language Day is observed annually on 23 April. For English, 23 April has been chosen to mark both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. For the Spanish Language, the Day was chosen because the day is also observed as Hispanic Day in Spain, meaning the Spanish speaking world.


3)  India Ranks 87th in WEF Global Energy Transition Index 2021

•India is placed at the 87th position among 115 countries in the 2021 Energy Transition Index (ETI). The report is published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), prepared in collaboration with Accenture to track nations on the current performance of their energy systems across various aspects.


4)  Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 held

•The opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 was held in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province. The theme of the conference – “A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation”.


•The forum, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, has not only played a unique role in pooling consensus and putting forward valuable “Boao proposals,” but also engaged countries in addressing global issues and promoting world development and prosperity.


5)  PM Modi Participates in Leaders’ Summit on Climate

•Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the “Leaders’ Summit on Climate”, hosted by the President of the U.S.A. Joe Biden. The two-day conference has been organised virtually on 22-23 April 2021, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Paris Agreement on climate change for signature.


6)  CAG GC Murmu selected as external auditor for Hague

•India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), GC Murmu has been chosen as the external auditor by the Hague-based Conference of State Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), for a three-year term starting 2021.


•India was also selected as a member of the executive council of the OPCW representing the Asia group for another two-year term.


7)  NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover extracts first oxygen from Red Planet

•According to NASA a toaster-size experimental instrument aboard Perseverance called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) accomplished the task. Mars’ atmosphere is 96 per cent carbon dioxide. MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. MOXIE is expected to extract oxygen at least nine more times over the course of a Martian year (nearly two years on Earth).


•This technology demonstration was designed to ensure the instrument survived the launch from Earth, a nearly seven-month journey through deep space, and a touchdown with Perseverance on February 18. The growing list of “firsts” for Perseverance, NASA’s newest six-wheeled robot on the Martian surface, includes converting some of the Red Planet’s thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen.


8)  Rekha Menon takes over as first woman chairperson of Nasscom

•Accenture India’s chairperson, Rekha M Menon has been appointed as chairperson of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), becoming the first woman to take the top role in the software lobby group’s 30-year history. She succeeds U B Pravin Rao, chief operating officer of Infosys as Nasscom’s chairperson. TCS President Krishnan Ramanujam will be the vice-chairperson.


9)  S&P Projects India’s GDP Growth Forecast at 11% in FY22

•The S&P Global Ratings has estimated the Indian economy to grow at 11 per cent in the current fiscal, i.e. 2021-22 (FY22). In terms of the sovereign rating, S&P currently has a ‘BBB-‘ rating on India with a stable outlook. Earlier, for 2020-21, the S&P estimated the Indian economy to contract 8 per cent.


10)  Fitch Ratings Affirms India’s Sovereign Rating at ‘BBB-‘

•Rating agency Fitch Ratings has kept the sovereign rating of India unchanged at ‘BBB-‘ with a negative outlook. Earlier, Fitch had estimated GDP contraction of 7.5 per cent in 2020-21 and growth of 12.8 per cent in the fiscal year FY22, followed by 5.8 per cent in FY23.

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Vision IAS PT 365 International Relations Prelims 2021 PDF

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Vision IAS PT 365 International Relations Prelims 2021 PDF

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The HINDU Notes – 23rd April 2021

14:08

 


📰 India joins search for Indonesian submarine

Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel to assist Indonesia in operations off Bali.

•The Indian Navy on Thursday dispatched its Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) from Visakhapatnam to support the Indonesian Navy in search and rescue efforts for its submarine  KRI Nanggala that went missing on Wednesday with 53 personnel onboard.

•“Spoke to the Defence Minister of Indonesia, General Prabowo Subianto over the phone and shared my pain over the news of missing submarine Nanggala and its crew members. India is extending its full support to the ongoing Indonesian rescue efforts,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter. “I have already directed the Indian Navy to move its DSRV to Indonesia. I have also tasked the Indian Air Force to see the feasibility of induction of the DSRV intervention system by air,” he added.

•On April 21, an alert was received by Indian Navy through International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), regarding the missing Indonesian submarine, the Navy said in a statement. The submarine was reportedly exercising in a location 25 miles north of Bali, it stated.

•The DSRV departed by sea and has to cover a distance of approximately 2,500 nautical miles, a Navy official said.

•Air Chief Marhal Hadi Tjahjanto, Commander of Indonesian armed forces had said KRI Nanggala 402 was participating in a torpedo firing exercise when it went missing. The Indonesian Defence Ministry said the submarine lost contact after being granted clearance to dive.

•Indonesian Navy launched a massive search and rescue effort for the missing submarine and also requested assistance from countries in the region which had submarine rescue capability. The 53 personnel onboard includes 49 crew members, three gunners and its commander. The German-built submarine was in service with the Indonesian Navy since 1981 and completed a two-year refit in South Korea in 2012.

•India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking Search and Rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV, the Navy said.

•“Indian Navy’s DSRV system can locate a submarine upto 1,000m depth utilising its state of the art Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV),” it stated, adding that after the submarine is successfully located, another sub module of DSRV — the Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) — links with the submarine to rescue the trapped personnel. The SRV can also be used to provide emergency supplies to the submarine.

•Under the framework of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Indonesia, Indian and Indonesian navies have been exercising regularly and deepened cooperation in recent years.

Australian assistance

•Singapore Navy has already pressed its rescue vessel while Australia too has offered assistance.

•“RSN’s MV Swift Rescue — our submarine rescue vessel — was dispatched expeditiously yesterday afternoon, as fast as she could get ready, after our Navy Chief received a request for assistance from his Indonesian counterpart. A medical team was also added to the regular crew in the event that hyperbaric care would be needed,” said Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Twitter.

•The site for search operations, near Bali, is more than 1,500 km away and waters are deep, which is why MV Swift Rescue sailed off as soon as she could, Mr. Ng said in a Facebook post.

Indian DSRV

•Indian Navy deployed the DSRVs, a critical capability for submarine rescue, in December 2018 and has since deployed two DSRVs at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam on the west and east coast respectively to provide redundancy, high operational availability and early response to deal with a submarine contingency. The Indian DSRV, supplied by James Fisher Defence, U.K., is the latest in terms of technology and capabilities, one official said.

📰 Joe Biden tells world leaders U.S. will cut emissions by up to 52% by 2030

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