VISION

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.

Vision IAS PT 365 International Relations Prelims 2021 PDF

📰 India joins search for Indonesian submarine

 Why in news?

Recently Centre has said that India will expand its vaccination coverage to everyone aged 18 and older from May 1, 2020.

What are the changes in procurement?

• In the first three phases only healthcare workers, frontline workers and those above the age of 45 were vaccinated.
• So the centre procured the entire quantity of vaccines from the manufacturers- Serum Institute of India (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) and distributed it to states.
• The states distributed the stock to government vaccination centres, which administered the vaccine free of cost and to private hospitals that charged recipients Rs 250 per dose.
• From May 1, the supply will be divided into two baskets:

1. 50 per cent for the Centre;
2. 50 per cent for the open market;

• Through the second — non-Government of India — channel state governments, private hospitals, and industries can procure and administer the vaccine.
• Free vaccination would be available at all vaccination centres that receive doses from the Government of India.

What will be the cost of a dose at a private centre?

 What is the issue?

• India’s crude oil production fell by 5.25% and natural gas production by 8.1% in the FY21.
• While Covid-19 related delays are among the key reasons cited, India’s crude oil and natural gas production have been falling consistently since 2011-12, and here is why.

What is the key reason for the falling production?

• Most of India’s crude oil and natural gas production comes from ageing wells that have become less productive over time.
• So, producers would have to invest more in extracting oil and gas from more difficult fields.
• This is done using technologically intensive means such as ultradeepwater fields.

Who are the key players?

 GS SCORE FACT FILE- Geography Indian Soil PDF

1)  International Mother Earth Day: 22 April

•Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April every year. The Day will be celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection. World Earth Day 2021 will mark the 51st Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day.

•The theme of 2021 International Mother Earth Day is Restore Our Earth.

2)  International Girls in ICT Day: 22 April

•International Girls in ICT Day marked annually on the fourth Thursday in April. This year International Girls in ICT Day is observed on 22nd April 2021. International Girls in ICT Day aims to inspire a global movement to increase the representation of girls and women in technology. Today, let’s recommit to the goal of equal access for young women and girls to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

•The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is highlighting the need to promote technology career opportunities for girls and women in the world’s fastest-growing sector.

3)  Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP growth forecast at 10.2% for FY22

•Care Ratings has revised downwards the GDP growth forecast of India to 10.2 per cent in 2021-22 (FY22). Earlier this was estimated between 10.7-10.9 per cent. This cut in the GDP is based on the fact that economic activities are getting affected across the country due to curbs imposed by states amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

4)  ICRA Slashes India’s GDP Forecast by 0.5% to 10.5% in FY22

•The domestic rating agency ICRA has cut the growth estimate of India for 2021-22 by 0.5 per cent on the upper end and now expects the economy to grow 10-10.5 per cent in 2021-22 as against 10-11 per cent estimated earlier. The downward revision in the forecast follows the lockdowns and restrictions which are getting imposed once again due to rising COVID-19 cases.

5)  India elected to 3 bodies of U.N. Economic and Social Council

India has been elected by acclamation, to three bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2022.

•Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)

•Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

•Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP)

6)  Tamil Nadu’s Arjun Kalyan becomes 68th Indian Grandmaster

•Tamil Nadu’s, Arjun Kalyan became India’s 68th Chess Grandmaster when he crossed the 2500 ELO mark after beating Dragan Kosic in the fifth round of GM Round Robin “Rujna Zore-3” in Serbia. Arjun is coached by IM Saravanan and Ukrainian GM Aleksandr Goloshchapov and began playing chess at the age of nine and got his FIDE rating a year later. Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first Grandmaster, in 1988.

7)  Australia announces partnership with India for Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative

•Australia has announced a grant of Rs 81.2 million (AUD 1.4 million) under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). IPOI was proposed by Indian Prime Minister Modi at the East Asia Summit in November 2019 and Australia is co-leading New Delhi in the marine ecology pillar of the initiative.

📰 India again placed at 142nd rank in press freedom

Shankar IAS Target 2021 Polity & International Relations-I PDF