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Sunday, April 17, 2022

Vision IAS Weekly Focus Nature-positive Cities: Rejuvenating Cities relationship with nature PDF

15:29

Vision IAS Weekly Focus Nature-positive Cities: Rejuvenating Cities relationship with nature PDF

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Insights IAS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine March 2022 PDF

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Insights IAS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine March 2022 PDF

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Vision IAS PT 365 International Relations Prelims 2022 PDF

15:18

Vision IAS PT 365 International Relations Prelims 2022 PDF

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Saturday, April 16, 2022

Daily Current Affairs, 16th April 2022

21:56

 


1)  World Voice Day 2022 celebrates on 16 April

•World Voice Day (WVD) is celebrated globally on April 16 every year. The day is observed to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the daily lives of all people. The Day is a global annual event dedicated to recognizing the boundless limits of the human voice. The mission is to share the excitement of the voice phenomenon with people, scientists, and other funding bodies.


2)  Save the Elephant Day 2022: 16 April

•Save the Elephant Day is celebrated on April 16 every year to raise awareness about the dangers elephants face and the various difficulties they have to overcome to live. Save The Elephant Day aims to change this alarming trend by educating people about elephants and the plights they face, encouraging everyone to do their bit and helping save them from extinction.


•The Day is established by the Thailand-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, to spread awareness among the general people about the significance and consequences of their actions, or inactions on the future of elephants. According to WWF data, at present, the population of Pachyderms in India is around 20,000 to 25,000.


3)  128th Foundation Day of Punjab National Bank

•Punjab National Bank, India’s second-largest bank has celebrated its 128th Foundation Day on April 12, 2022. On the occasion of foundation day, MD & CEO of PNB, Atul Kumar Goel has launched a cardless cash withdrawal service and a virtual debit card for its customers. Bank also launched various services on its mobile app named PNB One for safe banking transactions.


•PNB was established by the great freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai, proudly known as Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab) in 1894 as the First Swadeshi Bank after being influenced by the swadeshi movement.


4)  PM Modi Dedicates K. K. Patel Super Speciality Hospital in Bhuj

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation, a 200-bed KK Patel Super Speciality Hospital in Bhuj in the Kutch district of Gujarat, via video-conferencing. This hospital has been built by Shree Kutchi Leva Patel Samaj, Bhuj and is the first charitable super speciality hospital in the Kutch region.


•It will guarantee quality medical treatment for the people of Kutch including lakhs of soldiers, par military personnel and traders. This initiative is in line with the policy of the Central government to set up at least one medical college in every district of the country so that India gets a record number of doctors in the next 10 years.


5)  Odisha CM unveils logo of 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup

•Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo of the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga stadium in the capital Bhubaneswar. To be held in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, the prestigious quadrennial tournament is scheduled from January 13 to 29.


•Hockey India and its official partner Odisha will host the marquee event for the second consecutive time in the country after 2018. The 15th edition of the showpiece will be staged in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, where the country’s largest hockey stadium is being constructed.


6)  (e-NAM) National Agriculture Market Completed 6 years

•e-NAM marks the sixth anniversary of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), a pan-India electronic trade network. To ease online trade of agricultural commodities, the flagship programme incorporates physical wholesale mandis and markets from several States and Union Territories. The Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium is implementing e-NAM, which was launched on April 14th in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is completely funded by the Central Government.


7)  Israel successfully tests ‘Iron Beam’ new laser-based air defence system

•Israel successfully tested a new laser missile-defence system ‘Iron Beam‘ which can destroy any airborne object including drones. Iron Beam is the world’s first energy-based weapons system that uses a laser beam to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets, mortars, long-range missiles, anti-tank missiles etc. The Iron Beam which is developed by the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is using a directed-energy weapon system and can go a long way in providing aerial defence.


8)  Elon Musk: Great Lessons You Can Learn From Elon Musk Biography

•Elon Musk (born June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African-born American entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal and established SpaceX, a launch vehicle and spaceship manufacturer. He was also one of the original major investors in and the CEO of Tesla, an electric car company.

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The HINDU Notes – 16th April 2022

21:47

 


📰 Navy accelerates indigenisation efforts, focus on weapons and aviation items

“Till date, Navy has indigenised around 3400 items under INIP, including over 2000 machinery and electrical spares, over 1000 aviation spares and over 250 weapon spares”

•The Navy which has taken an early lead towards indigenisation decades ago and in 2014 promulgated the Indian Navy Indigenisation Plan (INIP) 2015-2030 to enable indigenous development of equipment and systems is further ramping up indigenisation efforts especially in weapons and aviation related items. This falls in line with the Government’s push to cut down on defence imports and boost domestic manufacturing which has gained further urgency due to ingoing Russian war in Ukraine and the large scale dependency of Indian military on Russian arms and equipment.

•“Till date, Navy has indigenised around 3400 items under INIP, including over 2000 machinery and electrical spares, over 1000 aviation spares and over 250 weapon spares. The existing Naval Aviation Indigenisation Roadmap (NAIR) 2019-22 is also under revision. All fast moving aircraft mandatory spares and high cost indigenous repairs are being included in the revised NAIR 2022-27,” one official said.

•There is particular focus on the fight component (which is weapons) as there is still a long way to go compared to the float and move components, the official stated. Float consist of the ship, move comprises the propulsion and fight consist of weapons and sensors.

•“The Navy has a head start. Several initiatives have been taken early on,” a Navy official noted in this regard.

•Towards this, four in-house indigenisation committees have been formed to handle indigenisation of spares with respect to naval aircraft. In addition, the Naval Liaison Cells (NLCs) located at various places have been nominated as ‘indigenisation cells’.

•There are currently 41 ships and submarines under construction, 39 are being built in India shipyards while in principle approval from MoD exists for 47 ships to be built in India, the Navy has stated earlier. Since 2014, 78 % of Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), by value, and 68 % of contracts, by value, have been awarded to Indian vendors, officials said.

•The Navy is working with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the industry to cut down developmental timelines, the official cited above said. “Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are doing a great job.”

•Some of the focus areas include indigenous design and development and production of Anti-Submarine Weapons and sensors, Satcom and electronic warfare equipment, Anti-Ship Missiles and Medium Range Surface to Air Missile, combat management system, software defined radios, network encryption devices, Link II communication system, main batteries for submarines, distress sonar system, components of missiles and torpedoes etc.

•The Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) which was launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in August 2020 provides a flexible and accessible interface for academia and industry with Indian Navy capability development apparatus, officials said.

•In the last two years, 36 IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) applications have been filed by Navy personnel. Over two IPR applications are filed every month since the creation of NIIO and Transfer of Technology to 12 MSMEs has already been undertaken,” another defence official said.

•Navy has now forward deployed user inputs through Naval Project Management Teams at cluster Headquarters of DRDO and two such clusters are already operational. These have interfaced with the DRDO labs and their Development cum Production Partners (DcPP) to provide user inputs at every stage to 15 futuristic Technology and 100 plus DRDO projects underway for development of Indian Navy’s combat capability, the official added.

•The Navy has more than 20 Make I & Make II cases being progressed, under various domestic development routes of the procurement procedure.

•Comparing the highly skilled and technology intense warship production compared to commercial ship building, Navy Chiefs in the past had stated that manpower employed for constructing a commercial ship of about 30,000 tonnes is less than the manpower employed in warship construction of about 6,000 tonnes. In addition, statistics show that the multiplier effect of one worker employed in a shipyard is approximately 6.4 on ancillary industries, a senior officer said in the past.

📰 e-DAR portal to speed up accident compensation claims

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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 16.04.2022

21:36
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Friday, April 15, 2022

Daily Current Affairs, 15th April 2022

17:44

 


1)  World Art Day observed on 15th April

•World Art Day is observed every year on 15 April globally. This day is being celebrated all over the world to emphasize the importance of art that nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples across the globe. The day was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA), an NGO working in official partnership with UNESCO.


2)  Himachal Pradesh statehood Day 2022: 15th April

•Himachal Day is observed on the 15th of April in Himachal Pradesh. The state became a full-fledged state on this day. Four districts of Mandi, Chamba, Mahasu and Sirmour were integrated with over two dozen princely states, leading to the formation of Himachal Pradesh as a Union Territory in 1948. Decades later, in 1971, Himachal Pradesh became the 18th state in India with Shimla as its capital.


•It was on this day in 1948 that Himachal Pradesh was created as a province of India. The day is marked with a grand parade in the capital city of Shimla. Local events are also organised in the cities, towns, and villages to mark the day.


3)  Vice President Venkaiah Naidu presents International Gandhi Award for Leprosy, 2021

•Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has presented the International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy, 2021 to Dr Bhushan Kumar of Chandigarh under the Indian nomination (individual) category and Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust, Gujarat under the institutional category. The award was given during a function in New Delhi on April 13, 2022.


4)  Union Government crosses its asset monetization target for FY22

•According to the evaluation made at a high-level review meeting, the central government has exceeded its asset monetization target of 88,000 crore for FY22 and has concluded agreements worth 96,000 crore. Roads, power, and coal and mineral mining are among the industries that have made significant contributions to asset monetisation. The Centre has set an asset monetisation target of over 1.6 trillion dollars for FY23, for which proposals from various ministries are in various stages of processing.


5)  World Bank Slashes India’s GDP Growth Forecast for FY22-23 to 8 Percent

•The World Bank has slashed the GDP growth forecast for India in FY2022/23 to 8 per cent in its bi-annual “South Asia Economic Focus” report, due to the negative impact of the war in Ukraine on FY23 growth. Earlier in January 2022, the growth forecast for FY23 was estimated at 8.7 per cent.


6)  Assamese New Year 2022, Rongali Bohag Bihu Festival

•Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu, one of the biggest festivals of Assam, falls in the second week of April every year, marking the beginning of the harvest period. This year Bohag Bihu is being observed from April 14 to April 16. Rongali means joy in Assamese and the festival indeed is the time to rejoice and make merry with family and community.


•The first day of the Hindu solar calendar is celebrated in the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, Manipur, and West Bengal among others with different names and traditions. Bihu is celebrated thrice a year; apart from Rongali or Bohag Bihu – Kati Bihu or Kongaali Bihu and Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu are celebrated to mark different stages of the harvesting period.


7)  Uttarakhand to launch “Him Prahari” scheme for ex-servicemen & youngsters

•The Government of Uttarakhand is set to implement the ‘Him Prahari’ Scheme which is meant for ex-servicemen and youngsters. The Uttarakhand Govt is seeking the cooperation of the Union Government to implement the scheme in areas bordering the Uttarakhand. The scheme will also prioritise settling ex-servicemen in areas bordering the state.


•The scheme is aimed at stopping the migration of people from Uttarakhand and will focus on areas where migration occurs at a rapid phase so that people stay put, and not move out. The estimated expenditure of the scheme is around Rs 5.45 crore. The Him Prahari Scheme was announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttarakhand unit in its 2022 Election Manifesto.


8)  20th India-France Joint Staff Talks Took Place in Paris

•The 20th edition of the India-France Joint Staff talks focused on new initiatives within the framework of the existing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism, as well as improving current defence engagements. The two-day talks took place in a nice, warm, and courteous setting in Paris. The Joint Staff Consultations between India and France are a forum intended to improve defence cooperation between the two countries through frequent talks at the operational and strategic levels.


9)  ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ introduced by MoHUA

•In the presence of senior officials from States/UTs and several Central Ministries, Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), launched the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ programme in an additional 126 cities across 14 States/UTs.


10)  India will host Street Child Cricket World Cup in 2023

•India is ready to host the Street Child Cricket World Cup in 2023. This world is organized by Street Child United and Save the Children India, the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023 will welcome 22 teams from 16 countries to India next year. The Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023 will welcome 22 teams from 16 countries to India next year.


•Countries that will participate this year are Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, England, Hungary, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. In addition to the partnership between Street Child United and Save the Children the SCCWC 2023 will also collaborate with World Bank, ICC and the British High Commission.

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Insight IAS [Subjectwise] Prelims 2022 Test 05 With Solution PDF

13:55

Insight IAS [Subjectwise] Prelims 2022 Test 05 With Solution PDF

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The HINDU Notes – 15th April 2022

13:47

 


📰 Parliamentary panel cautions against trade in captive elephants

Amended Bill has introduced an exemption clause to allow for sale and purchase of captive elephants

•Do not encourage sale and purchase of captive elephants, the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, headed by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, has recommended. The Parliamentary panel has urged the government to remove the controversial clause in the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 that overrides the original Act, making an exception only for the pachyderm.

•The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2021 and was referred to the Parliamentary panel on December 25. The panel is meeting on Monday for a final round of meeting on its report on the legislation.

•Section 43 of the principal Act clearly states: “No person having in his possession captive animal, animal article, trophy or uncured trophy in respect of which he has a certificate of ownership shall transfer by way of sale or offer for sale or by any other mode of consideration of commercial nature, such animal or article or trophy or uncured trophy.”

•The amended Bill that was on the panel’s table introduces an exemption clause to Section 43, which says: “This section shall not apply to the transfer or transport of any live elephant by a person having a certificate of ownership, where such person has obtained prior permission from the State Government on fulfilment of such conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.”

‘Careful balance’

•The standing committee has strongly recommended the deletion of this exemption clause for elephants. The committee has argued for a “careful balance” between traditions and conservation. “The Standing Committee is deeply conscious of the fact that a number of religious and cultural institutions in some states own elephants which play a crucial role in daily worship and rituals. That is why it has attempted to strike a careful balance to ensure that age-old traditions are not interfered with while at the same time addressing widespread concerns that nothing should be done to even give an impression that private ownership of elephants and trade in them is going to be encouraged,” the committee report accessed by The Hindu read.

•The committee at the same time has recommended that the government could bring in additional checks to allow sale and purchase by religious institutions. The 2021 amendment Bill proposes 50 amendments in the existing Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

•The amended Bill also seeks to rework the protection Schedules. Instead of the present six Schedules in the principal Act, the Bill proposes three Schedules — Schedule I for species that will enjoy the highest level of protection, Schedule II for species that will be subject to a lesser degree of protection, and Schedule III that covers plants.

‘Species missing’

•In principle, the standing committee endorsed the proposal but pointed out many discrepancies with the compilation. The report said that a number of species is missing in all the three Schedules. “The committee also finds species that should be in Schedule I but have been placed in Schedule II. There are species missing altogether both in Schedules I and II as well as in Schedule III,” the report states. 

•The Bill also fails to address “human-animal conflict”, the committee noted.

📰 Understanding the sovereign debt crisis in Sri Lanka

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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 15.04.2022

08:32
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