VISION

📰 China wary as India, Australia, Japan push supply chain resilience

1)  World Day for Safety and Health at Work: 28 April

•World Day for Safety and Health at Work is observed globally on 28 April every year. This day is observed to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally and raise awareness to ensure health and safety at the workplace.

•The theme for 2021 is “Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises – Invest Now in Resilient Occupational Safety and Health Systems”.

2)  Workers’ Memorial Day: 28 April

•The Workers’ Memorial Day, also known as International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers occurs every year on 28 April. The day has been organized worldwide by the International Trade Union Confederation since 1996.

•Theme 2021: ‘Health and Safety is a fundamental workers‘ right.’

•Its purpose is to remember workers killed in incidents at work or by diseases caused by work and honour the victims of occupational accidents and diseases by organizing worldwide mobilizations and awareness campaigns on this date.

3)  India third highest military spender in 2020

•India has retained its position as the third biggest military spender in the world in 2020, according to new data titled ‘SIPRI Military Expenditure Database’ published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on April 26, 2021.

4)  DRDO develops single crystal blades for helicopter engines

•The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed single-crystal blades technology for helicopters and has supplied 60 of these blades to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as part of their indigenous helicopter development programme for engine application. The DRDO will develop a total of five sets (300 blades) of single-crystal blades.

•This is part of a programme taken up by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) to develop five sets of single-crystal high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades using a nickel-based superalloy.

5)  Uttar Pradesh won e-panchayat award

•The Uttar Pradesh government won the “E-Panchayat Puraskar 2021”, ranking first in Category I. It was followed by Assam and Chhattisgarh at the second position, while Odisha and Tamil Nadu stood third. Every year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj awards those states, which ensure maximum use of information technology to keep a tab on the work done by gram panchayats.

6)  Oxford Economics Projects India’s FY22 GDP Growth Forecast to 10.2%

•The Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics has revised downwards the GDP growth forecast for India to 10.2 per cent for fiscal 2021-22. Earlier it predicted this at 11.8 per cent. The downward revision is based on the country’s serious health burden, weak vaccination rate and lack of a convincing government strategy to contain the pandemic.

7)  Arun Raste named new MD & CEO of NCDEX

•Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given approval to the appointment of Arun Raste as MD and CEO of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) for a period of 5 years.

•Raste is currently associated with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as an Executive Director and prior to NDDB, he has worked with organisations like IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NABARD, ACC Cement, and a non-profit NGO IRFT.

8)  PESB selects Amit Banerjee as CMD of BEML

•Public Enterprise Selection Board selected Amit Banerjee as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Earth Movers Limited, (BEML) an Indian Public Sector Undertaking. The PESB announced on meeting held on April 26, 2021. Currently, he is serving as Director (Rail & Metro), BEML Limited.

•In his professional career spanning over three decades in BEML, Shri Banerjee has worked in R&D and manufacturing functions. His experience involves the design & development of various products like SSEMU, Metro cars, Catenary Maintenance Vehicle, etc.

📰 A pragmatic approach for COVID-19

 What is the issue?

• The Government of India unveiled a completely revamped vaccine strategy.
• The resultant vaccine inequity could make containment measures more difficult.

What is the recent decision?

• Two key elements are the hallmark of this new strategy, which will be implemented from May 1, 2021.
• 1) The phased roll-out of the vaccination drive (initiated on January 16, 2021), under which the vaccine-eligible sections of the population were gradually increased, has now been extended to the entire adult population.
• All above 18 years will now get vaccinated.
• 2) A significant deregulation of the vaccine market has been effected.
• Vaccine manufacturers now have the freedom to sell 50% of their vaccine production to State governments and private hospitals.
• This can be sold at prices that can be substantially higher than that hitherto fixed by the government.
• A third element of the vaccine strategy, which was not announced formally, is a grant of ₹45 billion to the two vaccine manufacturers to boost their capacities.
  • Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech.

What are the concerns?

 Why in news?

A recent judgement of a division Bench of the Kerala High Court recently clarified the Muslim women’s right to initiate divorce.

What are the currently available options for Muslim women to divorce?

• One of the methods is divorce by mutual consent, through the process called Mubaarat.
• Another right of a Muslim woman to divorce is by way of Khula, wherein she decides to terminate the marriage.
• This process may be called wife-initiated Talaq.
• Till now, Ulemas, particularly of the Hanafi School, have interpreted that Khula can be exercised only when the husband accedes to the wife’s request.
• So, without the intervention of courts, a Muslim woman can unilaterally divorce her husband, only if, by contract, he has delegated the right to divorce to his wife.
• If he refuses, the woman has no option but to approach courts of law under the provisions set out in the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act of 1939.

What is the present case for?

 Raus IAS Focus Magazine April 2021 PDF

GS SCORE Yearly Compilation Geography Mountains & Peaks in India PDF

1)  India Joins Rescue Ops For Missing Indonesian Submarine “KRI Nanggala-402”

•The Indian Navy has joined the rescue operation for an Indonesian submarine and its 53-person crew that went missing more than 4 days ago. Indonesia had sought assistance from India after its 44-year-old submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, went missing while conducting a torpedo drill north of the island of Bali. The Navy’s Deep-Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSVR) left from Visakhapatnam.

2)  China names its first-ever Mars rover “Zhurong”

•China has named its first-ever Mars rover “Zhurong” after an ancient fire god ahead of a landing attempt on the Red Planet in May. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) revealed the name at the sixth China Space Day held in Nanjing. The Chinese name for Mars, “Huoxing,” literally means “fire star.”

•Zhurong was the most popular of 10 shortlisted names for a public vote that opened in January, and that choice was backed by an expert panel and the CNSA itself. The rover carries panoramic and multispectral cameras and instruments to analyze the composition of rocks. Zhurong will also investigate subsurface characteristics with ground-penetrating radar if all goes according to plan.

3)  Goldman Sachs Downgrade India’s GDP Growth Forecast to 10.5% for FY22

•Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs revised downward the GDP growth forecast of India for the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) to 10.5 per cent from the earlier estimate of 10.9 per cent. The downward revision is due to the increasing number of pandemic cases and a host of key states announcing stricter lockdowns, thus affecting economic activities.

4)  A new book title “Living Mountain” by Amitav Ghosh

•“The Living Mountain” is a new story by Jnanpith winner and internationally renowned author Amitav Ghosh, written during the course of the pandemic. It is a fable for the current times: a cautionary tale of how humans have systematically exploited nature, leading to an environmental collapse.

•HarperCollins Publishers India will publish The Living Mountain as a special standalone edition in January 2022 under its prestigious Fourth Estate imprint. The book will also be published simultaneously in Hindi, and as an ebook and an audiobook.

5)  Rafael Nadal clinches 12th Barcelona Open title

•Rafael Nadal beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 to win his 12th Barcelona Open title. It was Nadal’s 87th career title, and his 61st title on clay. This is the second tournament where Nadal has captured 12 or more titles. The 13-time Roland Garros champion will return to No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

6)  Manchester City won League Cup football tournament

•Manchester City won the League Cup for a record-equalling fourth time in succession with a deserved victory over a disappointing Tottenham Hotspur side at Wembley. City’s victory equalled Liverpool’s achievement in the early 1980s of winning the competition four years in a row.

7)  UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham leads global vaccination drive

•UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, David Beckham, is fronting a global initiative to inspire confidence in vaccines and encourage parents around the world to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases.

•In a powerful video released ahead of World Immunization Week, Beckham talks about the loss of everyday activities due to COVID-19, such as hugs with family, spending time with friends, and being with the people we love, and encourages parents to vaccinate themselves so that they can be safe.