VISION

 What is the issue?

• The recent trade restriction and the level of trade despite this are indicative of a possibility of resumption of India-Pakistan trade relations.
• This gives a reason to push for the revival of trade dialogue between the two countries.

What was the recent restriction on trade?

• In 2019, India and Pakistan undertook trade-restrictive measures against each other, perhaps the most severe in several decades.
• The Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir in February 2019 and cross-border air strikes played a role in this.
• After these, India withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status of Pakistan.
• India also imposed a customs duty hike of 200% on imports.
• Later, when India revoked the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan suspended bilateral trade.

Is this the first time?

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1)  World Bee Day observed globally on 20th May

•World Bee Day is observed globally on 20th May every year. On this date, 20 May, the pioneer of beekeeping Anton Janša was born in 1734 in Slovenia. The purpose of the bee day is to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators in the ecosystem. About 33% of the world’s food production depends on bees thus they are vital for the preservation of biodiversity, ecological balance in nature and helpful in reducing pollution.

•The theme of World Bee Day 2021 is “Bee engaged: Build Back Better for Bees”..

2)  World Metrology Day observed globally on 20th May

•World Metrology Day is observed globally on 20th May every year. Many nations on this day, internationally collaborate to create awareness about metrology and its advancement in the respective field. The theme for World Metrology Day 2021 is Measurement for Health. This theme was chosen to create awareness of the important role measurement plays in health, and thus in the wellbeing of every one of us.

3)  West Bengal government approved setting up of Legislative Council

•The West Bengal cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has approved the formation of the Legislative Council. At present, only Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh have Legislative Council. Previously, West Bengal had a bicameral legislature but it was abolished by the United Front government in 1969.

4)  India is the 2nd largest insurance-technology market in Asia-Pacific

•India is the second-largest insurance technology market in Asia-Pacific and accounts for 35 per cent of the $3.66 billion insurtech-focused venture capital invested in the region, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The data showed that at least 335 private insurtechs are operating in Asia-Pacific, with about 122 of them disclosing $3.66 billion in aggregate capital raised via private placement deals.

•China and India are collectively home to nearly half of private insurtech companies in the APAC region and attracted about 78 per cent of the investments. Insurance technology investors are attracted to India since it is one of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world.

5)  India climbs to 3rd spot on EY index

•India has moved a notch higher at the third spot on EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index due to exceptional performance on the solar photovoltaic (PV) front. India has moved one position above (3rd) from the previous index (4th), this is primarily because of the exceptional performance on the solar PV front.

•The US retains the top position on RECAI 57, China has remained a buoyant market and maintains the second position. India also committed to setting up 450 GW for renewable energy power capacity (installed) by 2030 in the recent climate summit hosted by the US.

6)  DNA sequencing pioneers from Cambridge win 1 million euro tech Nobel prize

•Two British chemists who developed a super-fast DNA sequencing technique that paved the way for revolutionary healthcare advances were awarded Finland’s version of the Nobel science prizes. Cambridge University professors Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman took home the 1 million euro ($1.22 million) Millennium Technology Prize for their work over 27 years creating ever faster and cheaper ways to sequence the human genome.

•The pair’s Next-Generation DNA Sequencing technology (NGS) “means huge benefits to society, from helping the fight against killer diseases such as Covid-19 or cancer to better understanding crop diseases and enhancing food production,” the Technology Academy Finland, which awards the biennial prize.

7)  Google floats News Showcase in India with top publishers

•Google has announced the launch of its global licensing programme News Showcase in India. Google has sealed agreements with 30 Indian publishers to offer access to some of their content. Amid mounting pressure from the global media fraternity asking for a fair price and advertising share from technology platforms.

•In February, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) had also asked search engine Google to compensate newspapers for the use of content published by them and sought a larger share of its advertising revenue. The content from these publishers will begin to appear in dedicated News Showcase story panels in Google News and on Discover pages in English and Hindi. The support for more local languages will be added in the future. It will also pay participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content.

8)  India’s Adani Green to buy SoftBank-backed SB Energy in $3.5 billion deal

•Indian renewable energy company, Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) would buy SoftBank Group Corp-backed (9984.T) SB Energy Holdings Limited for an enterprise value of $3.5 billion. It would buy the 80% stake held by SoftBank Group Capital Limited and the rest owned by Indian conglomerate Bharti Global Limited in a cash deal. The deal would allow Adani Green to achieve its targeted renewable portfolio of 25 gigawatts (GW) four years ahead of its expected timeline.

📰 6 UNESCO heritage sites added in India

 What is the issue?

• The recent Cyclone Tauktae has left a trail of death and destruction before making landfall in Gujarat.
• This reminds again that accurate forecasts and resilience-building hold the key to handling severe cyclones.

How severe was Cyclone Tauktae?

• Cyclone Tauktae swelled into an extremely severe cyclonic storm.
• It led to dumping enormous volumes of water all along the west coast.
• The cyclone caused loss of life in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, before weakening overland.
• The twin crises of the cyclone and COVID-19 have strained the capacities of multiple States, especially the coastal ones.

What are IMD’s recent measures?

 Why in news?

More than a week into their fourth war, Israel and the Hamas militant group already face allegations of possible war crimes in Gaza.

Which side is breaching the international law??

• International law prohibits targeting civilians or using indiscriminate force in civilian areas.
• Israel says Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and critics say Israel is using disproportionate force.

• It is hard to say who is right, especially in the fog of battle.
• The firing of hundreds of imprecise rockets into Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian groups is fairly clear-cut.
• But in Gaza, where 2 million people are packed into a narrow coastal strip, the situation is far worrying.

Why is the situation worse in Gaza?

1)  India’s First Agriculture Export Facilitation Centre Launched in Pune

•The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (MCCIA) has launched India’s first agro-export facilitation centre in Pune, in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The new Facilitation Centre will work as a one-stop-centre for the exporters in the agricultural sector as well as boost agricultural exports from the region, as per global standards.

•The Center would guide the prospective exporters on various relevant aspects of the ‘farm-to-fork chain of agro-exports through its experts. It would organize awareness programs, training programs and workshops on the related aspects, organise visits to export houses for getting practical guidance, organise buyer-seller meetings etc.

2)  Atlas V rocket launches SBIRS Geo-5 missile warning satellite for US Space Force

•The United Launch Alliance launched the Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The Atlas V rocket carried SBRIS Geo-5 Missile Warning Satellite. The full form of SBRIS is the Space-Based Infrared System. It is designed for missile warning, missile battlespace and defence characterization.

•SBRIS is basically a Space Tracking and Surveillance System. SBRIS was designed to meet the Infrared Space Surveillance of the United States Space Force System. In 2020 alone, the SBRIS satellites detected more than a thousand missiles.

3)  Iran Develops Its Most Powerful Supercomputer “Simorgh”

•Iran has unveiled a new supercomputer named ‘Simorgh’, which is 100 times more powerful than the previous supercomputer of the country to date. The supercomputer has been developed indigenously by Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT). It has been named after a mythical Phoenix-like bird ‘Simurgh’.

4)  Penpa Tsering elected president of Tibetan exile government

•The former speaker of Tibet’s parliament-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, has been elected the new president of the exile government. Nearly 64,000 Tibetans living in exile in India, Nepal, North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere voted in the election, which was held in two rounds in January and April. It was 3rd direct election of leadership after the withdrawal of Dalai lama from politics.

5)  Reliance Jio joins global consortium to build undersea cable network

•Telecom operator Reliance Jio is constructing the largest international submarine cable system centred on India with global partners and submarine cable supplier Subcom to cater to increased data demand. The two submarine cable systems which the company plans to deploy will connect India with Asia Pacific markets (Singapore, Thailand & Malaysia) and others with Italy & Africa.

6)  India’s WPI Inflation Surges To 10.49% For April 2021

•The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade recently released Wholesale Price in India for the month of April 2021. The annual rate of inflation for the month of April 2021 was 10.49%. The WPI for the month of April 2021 stood at 128.1. The base year in calculating WPI is fixed as 2011-12.

•The inflation rate is high in the month mainly because of the price rise in crude petroleum which in turn increased the prices of petrol and diesel in the country. Also, the price rise is due to an increase in the cost of manufactured foods. The annual rate of inflation in April 2021 is high primarily because of rising in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils viz petrol, diesel, etc, and manufactured products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

7)  India-Microsoft MoU on Digital Transformation of Tribal Schools

•The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the joint initiative for Digital Transformation of Tribal Schools. This includes the introduction of Ashram Schools and Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in tribal areas.

8)  Arjan Bhullar becomes first Indian-origin fighter to win MMA title

•Arjan Bhullar became the first Indian-origin fighter to win a world title in a top-level MMA promotion when he beat Brandon Vera to become the heavyweight world champion at the Singapore-based One Championship.

•By defeating Vera, Bhullar ended the Filipino-American’s five-year championship-winning run. Bhullar had won the commonwealth games gold medals in 2010 and 2012. He became the first Indian-origin freestyle wrestler to represent Canada at the Olympics.