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Tuesday, November 02, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 02nd November 2021

21:15

 


1)  International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

•The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is an UN-recognized day observed annually on 2 November. The day draws attention to the low global conviction rate for violent crimes against journalists and media workers, estimated at only one in every ten cases.


2)  Glasgow climate summit 2021: PM Modi speech highlights

•Addressing the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit held in Scotland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will reach net-zero carbon emission by 2070. PM Modi stressed on a five-point plan or ‘Panchamrit’ to fight the devastating effects of global warming and climate change. More than 120 world leaders were present at the COP26 Glasgow Climate Summit.


•India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target. China has said that it would reach the net-zero carbon emission goal in 2060 while the United States and the European Union are aiming for reaching the goal by 2050.


3)  G20 Summit ended with the adoption of Rome Declaration

•The 2021 G20 (Group of Twenty) Summit was held in Rome, Italy on October 30 and 31, 2021. It was the 16th meeting of the G20 group. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Rome Declaration by G20 Leaders.


4)  5th edition of “Ganga Utsav 2021” begins

•The 5th edition of the three-day-long Ganga Utsav has been organised from November 01 to 03, 2021 in virtual format. The “Ganga Utsav 2021 – The River Festival “ will not only celebrate the glory of the river Ganga but all the rivers of the country to promote the celebration of ‘Nadi Utsav’ (River Festival). The 2021 event has been organised under the leadership of the Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.


5)  Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

•Hurun India and EdelGive have jointly released the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021. The list was topped by Azim Premji, the founder chairman of Wipro, with a donation of Rs 9,713 crore during fiscal 2020-21 which is around Rs 27 crore a day. HCL’s Shiv Nadar once again retained the second spot on the list with an annual donation of Rs 1,263 crore, marking a 59 per cent rise. Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, and his family occupied the third spot on the philanthropy list with an annual donation of Rs 577 crore.


6)  Indian Navy stealth frigate Tushil launched in Russia

•The seventh Indian Navy frigate of the P1135.6 class was launched at the Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad in Russia. The ship has been formally named as Tushil, a Sanskrit word that means protector shield. Tushil will be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2023 followed by its sister ship by the end of 2023.


7)  ‘Vax’ named Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2021

•‘Vax’ has been chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 2021. Vax is derived from the Latin word Vacca, which means cow. Vax is used as a short form for vaccines and means a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them from getting a disease. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, words related to vaccines saw a surge in 2021, including terms like double-vaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer.


8)  A book on Rani Laxmibai’s lawyer John Lang authored by Amit Ranjan

•Amit Ranjan authored a book titled “John Lang: Wanderer of Hindoostan, Slanderer of Hindoostanee, Lawyer for the Ranee”. The book is about John Lang’s life, his exploits, and literary works. He was an Australian journalist and lawyer who settled in India in the 19th century. He fought many cases against the British and also represented Rani Laxmibai in her legal battle against the annexation of her kingdom of Jhansi by the East India Company (EIC).


9)  Harbhajan Singh & Javagal Srinath awarded MCC life membership

•The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has released the list of 18 Cricketers who were selected for the MCC awards Honorary Life Membership of the Club. The list witnessed the names of 2 former Indian cricketers – Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath. This year’s list saw the names of 18 players, including 16 Male & 2 Female players (Sarah Taylor & Sara McGlashan).
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Daily Current Affairs, 01st November 2021

21:07

 


1)  Govt approves interest rate on EPF for FY21 at 8.5%

•Ministry of Finance has approved the interest rate on employees’ provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2020-21 at 8.5%. The rate has been kept unchanged as for the year 2019-20. EPF is one fixed-income instrument that is completely tax-free under the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) regime, along with PPF and the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. Now the labour ministry will notify the interest rate for it to come into effect.


2)  Agriculture Minister inaugurated “Apple Festival” in Jammu and Kashmir

•Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha has virtually inaugurated Apple Festival, organized for the first time in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. It will provide a better platform to apple growers and other stakeholders. With an annual production of more than 2 million metric tonnes, apple from J&K contributes to 87% of the national production and is linked to the livelihood of about 30% of the population of Jammu and Kashmir.


3)  Public Affairs Index 2021: Kerala topped in governance performance

•According to the 6th edition of the Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru- based non-profit think tank, the top three slots have been taken by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana among 18 large states. PAI 2021 highlights the state government’s quality governance and especially the state’s government involvement over the curb of Covid-19.


4)  IRCTC & Truecaller partnered to reduce fraud in the railways

•The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has partnered with Truecaller India to provide passengers with greater trust in communication. This partnership aims to reduce fraud in the railways. Under this partnership, the integrated National Railways Helpline 139 has been verified by Truecaller Business Identity solutions. This partnership aims to assure the passengers that critical communications such as booking details and PNR status are delivered only by IRCTC.


5)  Isha Ambani appointed to Smithsonian’s board of trustees

•Board member of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance Retail and Reliance Foundation, Isha Ambani was appointed on the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The appointment is for 4 years. Apart from Isha Ambani, Carolyn Brehm, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Brehm Global Ventures LLC and lecturer, and Peter Kimmelman, also joined the board. Antoine van Agtmael is the chair of the museum’s board of trustees.


6)  Chennai-Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express gets IMS certification

•The Chennai-Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express has become the first train of Southern Railway to receive Integrated Management Systems (IMS) certification. It got the certificate for world-class maintenance of the train, environment-friendly resources and convenient and safe travel of the passengers. It is also the first Shatabdi train and the only second mail/express train of Indian Railways to receive this prestigious certification.


•The IMS certificate provided are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. The first train of Indian Railways to be IMS certified is Habibganj-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Habibganj Bhopal Express.
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The HINDU Notes – 01st November 2021

19:05

 


📰 Ahead of COP26, Indian database highlights emissions gap

Climate Equity Monitor underlines India’s demands for climate justice being at the heart of negotiations

•A day ahead of the commencement of the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Glasgow, Scotland, India has officially endorsed a website, made by Indian climate experts, that lists the historical carbon dioxide emissions of developed countries.

•The database aims to highlight the disparity between the emissions of developed and developing countries with countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and in Western Europe shown as having a net carbon debt while developing countries, including India and China, having net credit.

•The key fact that the database highlights is that it is only fair that developed countries must commit to steeper targets towards curbing emissions than developing countries.

•India is the third largest emitter of carbon emissions annually but the sixth largest when historical emissions are considered, and when accounting for the size of its population it is among the lowest per capita emitters. This underlines India’s demands for climate justice being at the heart of negotiations and its reluctance to agree to a fixed time frame to reach net zero, or when — in balance — it will cease to emit greenhouse gases.

•India is the only significant emitter that hasn’t committed to a net zero target and, in the run-up to COP26, faced immense global pressure to commit to one.

•“The website is intended to debunk the narrative provided by many developed countries, and global non-government organisations that focus attention continually on what developing countries must do, constantly demanding greater commitment and action from them,” says an accompanying press statement from Environment Ministry.

•Several officials from the the Ministry, including Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav are in Glasgow to participate in the meeting that is expected to go on till November 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be addressing the meeting in person along with 120 other heads of state.

•“Welcome the scientific initiative, Climate Equity Monitor, (https://climateequitymonitor.in) which went live today. Its focus on equity & climate action from a data and evidence-based perspective will encourage vigorous discussion on the crucial issue and engage experts from all nations,” Mr. Yadav tweeted from his official handle.

•The 'Climate Equity Monitor,' as the site is called, is aimed at monitoring the performance of Annex-I Parties under the UNFCCC (developed countries) based on the “foundational principles” of the Climate Convention, namely equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).

•The performance and policies of the Non Annex-I Parties (developing countries) will be also provided for comparison, the statement notes, “Existing “tracking” websites on climate policies are based in the global North and routinely do not address the crucial aspects of equity and differentiation. Others websites...bury the key issues in complexities that are not transparently dealt with.”

•The website was conceptualised and developed by the Climate Change Group at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering department at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bengaluru, with other independent researchers.

•The MSSRF team was led by Prof. T. Jayaraman, Senior Fellow, Climate Change and the NIAS team by Dr. Tejal Kanitkar, Associate Professor, the statement noted.

•The database lists historical emissions, the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted given the aim of keeping it below 2c and 1.5 C and each country’s corresponding fair share, the promises of each country to reduce emissions and the existing trajectory of their emissions.

📰 G20 ends without time-bound promise on climate change

Final text only commits to ‘net zero’ emissions by or around mid-century.

•India pushed for “safeguarding the interests of the developing world” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the G20 summit at sessions on climate change and sustainable development on Sunday, said G20 Sherpa and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

•No time-bound agreements were reached as leaders of the world’s top economies ended the summit in Rome, recommitting to providing $100 billion a year to counter climate change, and pushing for greater vaccine equality to fight the COVID pandemic. G20 countries also committed to ending international financing for all new coal plants by the end of 2021, but made no mention of domestic commitments on ending coal power generation.

•The final communique, which was agreed after negotiations overnight spoke only of the “key relevance of achieving global net zero” on carbon emissions “by or around mid-century”.

•Amongst the other highlights of the Rome Leaders statement was a decision to pursue the recognition of more vaccines by the World Health Organization under a “One Health approach” for the world, and providing finances and technology for vaccine production at “mRNA Hubs” in South Africa, Brazil and Argentina, and to mobilise more international public private financing for “green” or environmental projects.

•Addressing the media, G20 Sherpa and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hailed the communique for acknowledging India’s concerns on climate justice, and for getting developed nations agreed to providing finance and providing technologies to help less developed nations.

•“We have also been able to push the commitment of the developed world to provide $100 billion every year through from now until 2025. And the commitment of all the countries to mobilize greater levels of capital for the less developed countries and the emerging economies,” he said, referring to the previous commitments made at the Paris agreement, which have not yet been fulfilled.

•Climate negotiators from the U.S., EU and UK had made a number of visits to Delhi over the past few months, pressing for India to update its commitments (NDCs) to include its target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, and to set a date for ending the use of coal in power plants.

•However, Mr. Goyal said it would be necessary for developed countries to achieve much quicker emission cuts so that there is more “carbon space for the developing countries to pursue their development agenda”.

•“There are no adequate technologies to be able to absorb large amounts of clean energy into the grids and to maintain grid stability. And therefore, we will have to look at more technology and innovation playing an important role before we can identify a year for Net Zero,” Mr. Goyal said.

•UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the failure of the G20 summit to set a specific date for countries to achieve “Net Zero” carbon emissions, and on reducing global warming, had left his hopes “unfulfilled” but “not buried”, as the joint communique set the stage for tough negotiations at the COP26 Climate Change summit in Glasgow that begins on Monday.

•Mr. Modi will attend the opening ceremony of the 15-day event in the UK, where more negotiations, especially on global commitments to keep temperature increases at 1.5 degrees Celsius will take centrestage.

•Speaking at the session on Climate Change and Environment earlier, the host, Prime Minister Draghi had made an appeal for higher targets to be adopted by the 20 countries, that account for nearly 80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

•“The decisions we make today will have a direct impact on the success of the Glasgow Summit and, ultimately, on our ability to tackle the climate crisis,” Mr. Draghi said on Sunday, at the summit that was marked by the absence of five key G20 leaders, from China, Russia, Japan, South Africa and Mexico, who addressed the conference virtually, and sent Ministers in their place. Indonesia will host the next G20 in 2022, and India will be its host in 2023.

📰 Navy takes delivery of guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam

It’s equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and long-range Surface-to-Air missiles

•The first ship of the four Project-15B state-of-the-art stealth guided missile destroyers, Visakhapatnam, being built at the Mazgaon Docks Limited (MDL), was delivered to the Navy last Friday. Delayed by three years, the ships will be commissioned very soon.

•“The 163-metre-long warship has a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes and a maximum speed of 30 knots. The overall indigenous content of the project is approximately 75%,” the Navy said on Sunday.

•The contract for the construction of the ships was signed in January, 2011 at a project cost of about ₹29,643.74 crore. The design of the ships has been developed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design and are a follow-on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers. The four ships are christened after major cities from all four corners of the country — Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat, the Navy said.

•The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid in October 2013 and the ship was launched in April 2015. These ships are equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and long-range Surface-to-Air missiles (SAM).

•The ship has several indigenous weapons systems like medium range SAMs, indigenous torpedo tube launchers, anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers and 76-mm super rapid gun mount, the Navy said.

•“The induction of the destroyer, despite the COVID challenges, is a tribute to the collaborative efforts of a large number of stake-holders and would enhance the maritime prowess in the Indian Ocean Region.”

Enhanced stealth features

•The design of Project 15B has largely maintained the hull form, propulsion machinery, many platform equipment and major weapons and sensors as the Kolkata class to benefit from series production. However, these ships feature enhanced stealth features over the earlier class through shaping of hull and use of radar transparent deck fittings which make them difficult to detect and also feature significant advances in automation and networking.

•These ships are propelled by four gas turbines in Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration and have maximum endurance of 4000 nm at economical speed of 14 knots, the Navy had said earlier.

📰 Informal sector shrank sharply in 2020-21: SBI report
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The HINDU Notes – 02nd November 2021

18:09

 


📰 Sign off on Paris Rulebook, says BASIC

Bhupender Yadav articulates view of Brazil, South Africa, India and China at Glasgow conference

•On the opening day of the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP), Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav delivered a statement on behalf of the BASIC group of countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — at the U.N. Climate Change Conference under way in Glasgow.

•These major developing economies are significant polluters but bear diminished responsibility for the carbon dioxide that has been pumped into the atmosphere since 1850 and also have low per capita emissions because of their significant populations.

•These countries have therefore for many years sought to rebuff pressure from developed countries to take on firmer emission reductions.

•Mr. Yadav said a key demand of the BASIC was that the Paris Agreement Rulebook be concluded at COP26.

•While the Paris Agreement laid out the framework for international action, the Rulebook will set this Agreement in motion by laying out the tools and processes to enable it is implemented fairly and properly.

•Countries had agreed to develop and finalise the Paris Rulebook at COP24 in Poland in 2018.

•“In doing so, full effect must be given to implementation of the principles of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and, recognition of the very different national circumstances of Parties,” Mr. Yadav said in his written statement and underlined that developing countries must be accorded time, policy space and support to transition towards a low emissions future.

•Mr. Yadav reiterated BASIC demands that he has also spelt out in India that COP26 must aim for higher global ambition on climate finance and adaptation as well, along with recognition of the Parties’ differing historical responsibilities and the developmental challenges faced by developing countries, compounded by the pandemic.

•In the statement, Mr. Yadav recalled the “bottom-up nature” of the Paris Agreement and the freedom of Parties to determine their NDCs and progressively update them based on the outcomes of the Global Stocktake cycle — that specifies the actual progress made by countries so far in mitigating emissions — and as per national circumstances and call of science.

•The latest available science makes it clear that all Parties need to immediately contribute their fair share and achieving this would require developed countries to rapidly reduce their emissions and dramatically scale-up their financial support to developing countries.

📰 Ministry releases guide for safe rescue, release of Ganges River Dolphins
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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 02.11.2021

17:45
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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 01.11.2021

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Sunday, October 31, 2021

VISION IAS Mains 2021 Post Independence Printed Notes PDF

06:57

 VISION IAS Mains 2021 Post Independence Printed Notes PDF

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VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 11 With Solution PDF

06:56

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VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 10 With Solution PDF

06:52

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Saturday, October 30, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 30th October 2021

19:01

 


1)  World Thrift Day observed on 31st October

•World Thrift Day is celebrated every year on October 31, across the world, but in India, the day is celebrated annually on October 30. This day is celebrated to promote the importance of savings and how saving money is important in today’s world. It is an important day to be remembered for individuals as well as the country’s economy. Savings, as we all know, is a necessity for every depositor who contributes to economic development.


2)  Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day: 31st October

•In India, the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day is observed every year on October 31 since 2014, to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This year marks the 146th anniversary of the great leader who played an instrumental role in India’s struggle for independence, and later during the integration of the country.


3)  World Cities Day observed on 31st October

•The United Nations General Assembly has designated the 31st of October as World Cities Day. The Day is celebrated to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contribute to sustainable urban development around the world.


•The global theme of World Cities Day 2021 is “Adapting cities for climate resilience”, acknowledging that integrated climate resilience policies and action plans will greatly reduce climate-related risks for urban populations.


4)  Karnataka tops State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2020

•Karnataka has topped the State Energy Efficiency Index 2020 (SEEI), scoring 70 points out of 100 on the back of several initiatives to improve energy efficiency in the state. Rajasthan is on second rank followed by Haryana on third. Last year i.e in SEEI 2019 ranking, Rajasthan was on top. The State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2020 was released under the Ministry of Power.


5)  Centre approves reappointment of Shaktikanta Das as Governor of RBI

•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the reappointment of Shaktikanta Das as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) for a further period of three years with effect from December 10, 2021. He assumed the charge as the 25th governor of RBI on December 12, 2018, for three years. Before his appointment at RBI, Das served as a member of the 15th Finance Commission. He is a 1980 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre.


6)  South Korea inaugurated World’s Largest Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Plant

•The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea held that the ‘Shinincheon Bitdream Fuel Cell Power Plant’ at the Shinincheon Bitdream headquarters of Korea Southern Power in Seo-gu, Incheon has been completed and inaugurated. The power plant is operated by South Korea’s independent power production company, POSCO Energy and Doosan Fuel Cell. It has a capacity of 78 MW constructed in four stages from 2017. The project cost about 340 billion won ($292 million).


7)  THE’s World Reputation Rankings 2021 announced

•4 Indian institutes have made it to the Times Higher Education (THE)’s World Reputation Rankings 2021, the annual ranking of THE that features the top 200 universities based on the votes from leading academics across the globe. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru ranked among the top 100 (91-100) has topped the Indian Institutes. The other 3 Indian institutes are the IIT Bombay, the IIT Delhi, and the IIT Madras.


•Harvard University of the United States of America (USA) has topped the 2021 ranking. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA and University of Oxford from the United Kingdom (UK) has secured the 2nd and 3rd rank respectively.


8)  Uttarakhand gets country’s largest aromatic garden

•Uttarakhand gets India’s largest aromatic garden in the Nainital district. The research wing of the Uttarakhand forest department inaugurated the biggest aromatic garden of India in Lalkuan of Nainital district. Established in an area of over 3 acres, the garden has 140 different species of aromatic species from across India. The project was initiated in the year 2018-19 after approval of the Research Advisory Committee in June 2018.


9)  CBSE launches Veer Gatha project in schools

•CBSE launches Veer Gatha project in schools to raise awareness on Gallantry Awards. Schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been asked to prepare projects and engage in activities based on the Gallantry Award winners. The Veer Gatha project aims to raise awareness about the brave acts and sacrifices of the Gallantry Award winners among school students. The Veer Gatha project is being conducted from October 21- November 20. The projects can be interdisciplinary & in various formats such as poems, essays, etc.
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