VISION

1)  International Day of Clean Air for blue skies

•The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is observed globally on September 07 to promote and facilitate actions to improve air quality. It is an UN-recognised day that aims to raise public awareness at all levels (individual, community, corporate and government) that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment.

2)  Food Processing Week: September 06 to 12, 2021

•To commemorate 75 years of India’s independence, the Government of India is celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.’ As a part of the celebration, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is observing ‘Food Processing Week’ from 6th to 12th September 2021, under which, the Ministry is organizing various programs.

•The Ministry launched the ‘Food Processing Week’, 6th September 2021, through an official video on social media platforms. The success story of the beneficiary of the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, Smt. Radhika Kamat was also published on the Ministry’s website in the ‘Atmanirbhar Enterprises’ series.

3)  President Ram Nath Kovind presents National Award for Teachers-2021

•National Teachers’ Award 2021 was awarded by President Ram Nath Kovind, September 5, 2021. President Kovind gave the awards to 44 finest teachers in the country for their dedicated contribution. The award is contributed to those who improve the quality of education for students and also inspire, enrich their lives. This year, the Ministry of Education released the name of 44 teachers, who would be conferred the National Teachers’ Award. Out of the total 44 teachers, 9 of the awardees are women.

•Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, President Kovind addressed the teachers virtually. While highlighting the role and importance of teachers in one’s life, President Kovind expressed his gratitude to all the teachers who received the awards. The award was also bestowed upon Pramod Kumar Shukla of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), Chhattisgarh. It is the second award in a row for an EMRS established under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

4)  India’s first bio-brick based building opened at IIT Hyderabad

•India’s first building made of bio-bricks from agro-waste has been inaugurated at IIT Hyderabad. The sample building is made up of bio-bricks supported by a metal framework. The roof is also made of bio-bricks over PVC sheets to reduce heat. It is part of the Bold Unique Idea Lead Development (BUILD) project to demonstrate the strength and versatility of the material.

•A prototype of the guard cabin was designed and set up in the space allocated by IIT-H. It is part of the Bold Unique Idea Lead Development (BUILD) project to demonstrate the strength and versatility of the material. The sample building is made up of bio-bricks supported by a metal framework. The roof is also made of bio-bricks over PVC sheets to reduce heat. Both inside and outside walls are cement-plastered to protect the bio-bricks from rain.

5)  S.L. Tripathy appointed as CMD of United India Insurance

•The central government has selected S.L.Tripathy as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India Insurance Company Limited. He is currently General Manager and Director at The New India Assurance Company Limited. He is appointed as CMD of United India from the date of assumption of charge of the office and up to the date of attaining the age of superannuation.

6)  Naval exercise between India and Australia- ‘AUSINDEX’ begins

•The 4th edition of AUSINDEX, a bilateral navy exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy has begun from September 06, 2021, and will continue up to September 10, 2021. Indian Navy Task Group comprises INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt. This edition of AUSINDEX includes complex surface, sub-surface and air operations between ships, submarines, helicopters and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the participating Navies.

7)  India’s first dugong conservation reserve to come up in Tamil Nadu

•Tamil Nadu state government has announced to set up India’s first dugong conservation reserve at the northern part of the Palk Bay. Dugong are commonly known as sea cows. According to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) estimates, only 200-250 Dugongs are left in the wild, of which 150 are found in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.

8)  130th edition of Durand Cup kicks off in Kolkata

•The 130th edition of the Durand Cup kicked off at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan in Kolkata. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee kicked the ball and inaugurated the tournament. 16 teams are playing in this edition of the oldest club football tournament in Asia while two clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are not participating. The final match will be held on 3rd October.

9)  IAF chief attends Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021 in Hawaii

•Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria attended a three-day-long Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The event themed ”Enduring Cooperation towards Regional Stability” was attended by air chiefs from countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Bhadauria was nominated as the Dean for the symposium.

•India, the US, Australia, Japan and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The symposium saw deliberations through panel discussions, tabletop exercises and keynote addresses on topics ranging from aspects of regional security to cooperation amongst air forces for humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

10)  Tamannaah Bhatia unveils her book titled ‘Back to the Roots’

•Actress Tamannaah Bhatia launched her book ‘Back to the Roots’. She has co-authored the book with celebrity lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho. The book is based on intensive research and mentions India’s ancient secrets of health and wellness. All the chapters in ‘Back To the Roots’ are complete with tried-and-tested secrets that have served generations of this country.”

GS SCORE Current Affairs September 2021 Week 1 PDF

📰 ‘Right to sit’: TN tables Bill mandating establishments to provide seating for employees

 Why in news?

The Centre recently launched the e-Shram portal to create a national Aadhaar-seeded database of unorganised workers.

What is the e-Shram portal?

• The portal is expected to create a unified database for unorganised workers to help them access various benefits of central and state government welfare schemes.
• Unorganised workers form over 80% of the workforce - self-employed, migrant and MSME workers.
• The aim is to register 38 crore unorganised workers.

• It will cover construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers, among others.
• Workers can register on the portal with the help of Aadhaar and bank account details.
• They will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12-digit unique number.
• Registered workers will be eligible for Rs 2 Lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs 1 lakh on partial disability.
• The registration on the portal will be coordinated by the Labour Ministry, state governments, trade unions and Common Service Centres.

How does it help?

• Under the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, a similar attempt was made. But it resulted in the registration of just 120 million workers.
• But the digitisation under this portal will now help in targeting income transfers better and in including the workers in other social security schemes.

• E.g., pension, provident fund, deposit linked insurance, maternity and accident benefits as spelt out in the Social Security Code, 2020.
• However, the Code does not spell out how this will be financed.

How significant is registering unorganised workers?

• At present, unorganised workers are registered under different welfare boards, or not at all.
• In the absence of any central register, migrant workers often do not receive the benefits.
• Of the 50 million workforce of construction workers, at least 15 million are not registered.
• Of the 35 million or more registered, about 40% are not active.
• Events such as Covid-19 require reaching out to the unprotected workforce.
• Clearly, an electronic registration system that can be accessed anywhere is the need of the hour.

What should be done?

Why in news?

The end of Afghanistan War has led to a new foreign policy doctrine for the Biden era

What are the components of the doctrine?

• Focus on China and Russia - containing China and Russia will be the focus of US foreign policy under him
• Cyber security -It is a new mode of warfare and must be given prime attention
• America’s counter-terrorism project – It will be pursued through “over the horizon” capabilities, meaning satellites and unmanned drones, will be the predominant instruments
• Purpose of external military deployment - nation-making or democracy-building will not be the purpose. It will be strictly limited to security
• Security - Security will not include counter-insurgency, meaning long-term military involvement in a civil war
• Key drivers of foreign policy - democracy and human rights will continue to be key drivers of foreign policy, but economic tools and diplomacy will be the main methods for achieving such goals

What are the critics pointing out?

 Vision IAS Prelims 2021 Test 33 With Solution PDF

 What is the issue?

The development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a little over a decade has spawned a parallel universe of alternative financial services. Here is a look at them.

What do crypto businesses offer?

• Generally, lending and borrowing.
• Earn interest on holdings of digital currencies, often a lot more than on cash deposits in a bank.
• Borrow with crypto as collateral to back a loan. Crypto loans generally involve no credit checks as transactions are backed by digital assets.
• E.g., In a BlockFi interest account, depositors can earn a yield 100 times higher than on average bank accounts.
• [BlockFi is a secured non-bank lender that offers cryptoasset-backed loans to cryptoasset owners.]

Benefits

1)  National Teachers’ Day: 05 September

•The 5th of September is celebrated as teacher’s day all over India. This day is celebrated as the teacher’s day to mark the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was the former president of our country. He was a philosopher, a scholar, and the Bharat Ratna Awardee.  He was the second President of India (1962 to 1967) and the first Vice President of India (1952–1962). The Ministry of Education presents the National Teachers Awards on this occasion every year. In 2021, the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind will confer National Awards on 44 teachers from across the country.

2)  International Day of Charity: 05 September

•The International Day of Charity is observed annually on September 05. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. September 5 was chosen in order to commemorate the death anniversary of Mother Teresa, who had always been engaged in charitable work. Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for “work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”

3)  28th Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise ‘SIMBEX-2021’

•The 28th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) took place from September 02 to 04, 2021. The SIMBEX-2021 annual bilateral maritime exercise was hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in the southern fringes of the South China Sea.

4)  GoI launches AYUSH AAPKE DWAR campaign to distribute medicinal saplings

•As a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration, the Ministry of AYUSH has launched a campaign titled ‘AYUSH AAPKE DWAR’, which aims to distribute medicinal plant saplings to 75 lakh households in one year. The campaign was inaugurated by the Union Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal from Mumbai, during which he distributed medicinal plant saplings to citizens.

•Subsequently, the campaign was launched from more than 45 locations across the country. The medicinal plants being distributed include Tejpatta, Stevia, Ashoka, Giloy, Ashwagandha, Lemongrass, Tulsi, Sarpagandha and Amla. Under this campaign, it is proposed to undertake the cultivation of medicinal plants across 75,000 hectares in one year.

5)  India and US inks Project Agreement for Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

•The Ministry of Defence, the Government of India and US Department of Defence have signed a Project Agreement (PA) for Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV). This agreement is signed under the Joint Working Group Air Systems in the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). 

•The PA for ALUAV is part of the Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) Memorandum of Agreement, which was first signed between the Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defence, in January 2006 and renewed in January 2015. The RDT&E aims at deepening defence technology collaboration between the two nations through the co-development of defence equipment.

6)  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 24th meeting of FSDC

•Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired the 24th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). Finance Minister is the chairperson of FSDC. It must be noted that FSDC Sub-Committee is chaired by the Governor, RBI.

7)  India becomes first Asian nation to launch ‘Plastics Pact’

•India has become the first country in Asia to launch a Plastics Pact, a new platform to promote a circular system for plastics. The India Plastic Pact platform was launched on September 03, 2021, by the British High Commissioner to India, Alexander Ellis, at the 16th Sustainability Summit hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

8)  Cyrus Poncha becomes new Vice-President of Asian Squash Federation

•Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) Secretary-General, Cyrus Poncha has been unanimously elected as Vice-President of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF), during the 41st annual general meeting of ASF. The Dronacharya Awardee has been elected for a period of the four-year term.

•David Mui of Hong Kong was elected unopposed as the President of ASF for a second term. Apart from Cyrus Poncha, Mr Fayez Abdullah S.Al-Mutairi of Kuwait and Tae-sook Hee of Korea have been also elected as the Vice-Presidents of ASF.

9)  PhonePe launches digital payment interactive geospatial platform “Pulse platform”

•PhonePe has launched a platform named PhonePe Pulse. Pulse is India’s first interactive platform with data insights and trends on digital payments. The platform shows more than 2000 crore digital transactions by customers on an interactive map of India. PhonePe also launched the Pulse Report, an in-depth study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years. The report also has insights about how digital payment adoption across India has evolved since 2016 and includes detailed geographical and category-specific trends.

10)  A book title “A Rude Life: The Memoir” by Vir Sanghvi

•Vir Sanghvi, one of India’s most recognised journalists, has come out with a memoir titled A Rude Life. ‘A Rude Life: The Memoir’ has been published by Penguin Random House. Through this book, the author has shared his views and experience of the most eventful careers in Indian journalism, including his personal life, stories of and about celebrities and politicians, middlemen and behind-the-scene actors.

11)  Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth by Angelina Jolie

•Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has recently announced her upcoming book, titled “Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth”. The book has been written jointly by Angelina Jolie, Amnesty International and human rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren QC.

12)  Tokyo Paralympics 2020: India finishes 24th with record 19 medals

•India finished their campaign at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 with an all-time high of 19 medals which includes five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. This is the best medal tally for India a single edition of the Paralympic Games. India is placed at 24th position in the overall medal tally out of a total of 162 nations.

📰 True mettle: On India’s parathletes