Dear aspirants, welcome to the Hranker Current Affairs section. Here you can read the latest current affairs 2021 and get daily updates of the top current affairs for all competitive examinations like RBI grade B, SSC, IBPS, RRB etc. You can also check Today in History important historical facts of the day.
1. 21st India Russia Annual Summit 2021 Held in New Delhi.
About the Summit
The countries agreed to extend the military technical cooperation by another ten years. Currently, the indigenous production under this cooperation include T – 90 tanks, MiG 29K aircraft, Su – 30 MKI, upgrade of MiG and supply of Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher Smerch. Both India and Russia are currently developing fifth generation Fighter Aircraft and Multi – Role Transport Aircraft.
Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Russia signed a pact to respond to cyberattacks.
The leaders agreed that both the countries share common perspectives on the situation in Afghanistan. They agreed to implement a bilateral roadmap created to act upon Afghanistan.
The Inter – Governmental Commission on Military and Military – Technical Cooperation was held. This commission was established in2000.
Discussions during the summit
The leaders discussed the International North – South Transport Corridor and also about the Chennai – Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor (which is under proposal).
Russia welcomed the “Delhi Declaration on Afghanistan”.
India congratulated Russia on joining as an observer in NAM. And Russia congratulated India for its membership at the United Nations Security Council.
Inference
The “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” between the countries is getting stronger.
The visit of the Russian President is a reflection of the country’s commitment to its ties with India.
This is in need of the moment. Because, the ties between India and Russia were buffeted by New Delhi’s ties with the US.
2. A Chinese lunar rover Yutu-2 identifies a mysterious cube shaped hat on the far side of the moon.
What is the mystery object spotted by Yutu – 2?
The Yutu – 2 rover found a cube shaped object on the far side of the moon. A likely explanation for the object is that it can be a larger boulder that was excavated by an impact event.
Chang’e 4 mission
As the name suggests, Chang’e 4 was the fourth lunar mission of China. The Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 missions were orbiters. Chang’e 3 landed on the near side of the moon with Yutu – 1. Chang’e 5 mission brought a moon sample to the earth.
About Yutu – 2
It is solar powered and propelled by six wheels. The Yutu – 2 landed in Von Karman crater.
Yutu – 2 captured the Lunar Ejecta Sequence for the first time.
In 2020, scientists reported a high resolution image of the Lunar Ejecta Sequence for the first time. The geology of the moon is called Selenology. The moon lacks a true atmosphere. It does not hold any known actions of plate tectonics. It has a lower gravity. It cooled faster. Its surface was formed by volcanism and cratering.
Yutu – 2 Heater Unit and its Record
The Yutu – 2 is equipped with a radioisotope heater unit. The unit is used to heat the subsystems in the rover during long lunar nights. It set a record of traversing for a greater number of lunar days. It continuously traversed the lunar surface for 11 days. Earlier, the record was held by Lunokhod – 1 rover of Russia.
This was possible because of the heater unit. It takes 29 earth days for the moon to complete one lunar day or to complete one rotation around its axis. This means that the nights on the moon are longer. Thus, the heater unit is mandatory to increase the functioning of the rover.
What is the far side of the moon?
The rotation and revolution period of the moon are equal. That is, the time taken by the moon to make one complete revolution around the earth and the time taken by the moon to make one complete rotation along its axis is the same.
This is why the earth is constantly seeing only one side of the moon. The earth has never seen the other side. This other side is called the far side of the moon.
It was launched in 2018 and it landed on the moon in 2019. Recently, the rover spotted a cube – shaped mystery hut on the far side of the moon.
3. The US Government recently announced the boycott of the 2022 Olympics.
What is Diplomatic Boycott?
It means that the US is not sending any official or diplomatic representation to participate in the Olympics. However, the US is allowing American athletes to participate in the Olympics.
Why is the US boycotting the Olympics 2022?
The US is boycotting for the following human rights atrocities of China:
- Situations in Taiwan and Tibet
- The crackdown in Hong Kong
- Abuse of minority Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang
- US Previously boycotted in 1980
Previously, the US boycotted the Olympics completely in 1980. Then the boycott was to protest against the Soviet Union military presence in Afghanistan.
In December 1979, the Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan supporting the Afghan communist government. The soviet then remained in Afghanistan till 1989. In 1980, around 60 countries refused to compete in the Olympics along with the US. This included China, Japan, Canada, Israel and West Germany.
China’s Boycott
The Chinese Government boycotted the Olympics in 1972. According to China, in 1972, the International Olympics Committee failed to recognize its team.
What is the issue?
China is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics. This is the first time in the Olympics history that a country is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics.
The Summer and Winter Olympics are held once every four years. The Summer Olympics is generally referred to as the Olympics with more countries participating. The Winter Olympics is a relatively smaller event.
The summer Olympics are held once every four years, mainly during the leap years. The winter Olympics are held two years after the leap year.
The Summer Olympics were held in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, etc. And the Winter Olympics were held in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc. China hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and is now to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.
How is China hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics?
Around six potential cities of Europe dropped out of the bidding due to the doping scandal. Also, the price tag of 51 billion USD also drove away bidders. This led to getting down to two candidates. One was China and the other was Kazakhstan.
How is the Olympic host city chosen?
The major cities from the world make competitive bids every two years to the International Olympics Committee. This is done seven years before the games.
The IOC then makes rigorous audits to check if the city bid is capable of hosting the games. This is because the city has to accommodate a large number of sports persons, government delegates, should provide security, etc.
Based on these factors and the bidding, the members cast their votes. The winning city hosts the games.
4. Ministry of Minority Affairs data reveal more than 6 lakh beneficiaries receive skill development training under Nai Manzil Scheme scheme.
- Main objective of the scheme is to equip the minority youth with employable skills.
- In December 2021, 6,57,802 minorities received skill development training under the scheme.
About the scheme
The scheme mainly focuses on minority youth in the age group of 17 to 35 years. They are school dropouts and youths educated in community education institutions such as the Madrasas.
The selected youths are provided with skill training along with certification under the Nai Manzil scheme. The scheme helps the youths to seek better employment in the organised sector. The scheme reserves 30% seats for minority girls.
What is the main objective of the scheme?
The scheme aims to provide skills to the youths in the country.
It aims to establish employment linkages for minority youth and school dropouts.
Its main goal is to contribute to increase human resource potential in the country. Ultimately, by achieving the above objectives, the scheme aims to realise the National aspirations of Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
What minority communities does the scheme target?
It targets the notified minority communities. They are Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Parsis. There are also denotified communities. The Denotified communities are those that are socially and economically backward. They are not minority communities.
It mainly targets the youths who do not have a proper school leaving certificate. The certificate is mandatory to seek better employment in an organised sector.
Other Similar Scheme
Seekho Aur Kamao:
It means Learn and Earn.
It is also called the SAK scheme.
It is a placement linked skill development scheme.
It aims to provide skills to minority youth in the age group of 14 to 45 years.
It reserves 33% of the total allocation for the female beneficiaries.
USTTAD: USTTAD is Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts or Crafts for Development. It aims to promote and preserve the rich heritage of traditional arts and crafts of minority communities.
Hamari Dharohar Scheme: The scheme aims to preserve the culture, practises, beliefs, customs and traditions of minority communities in the country.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram: Aims to provide better infrastructure facilities to the minority communities mainly in education and health.
Navya Savera Scheme: Aims to empower minority community students preparing for Competitive exams.
5. Rukmini Banerji, CEO of Pratham has been awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize.
Rukmini Banerji, chief executive officer of India’s Pratham Education Foundation, has been awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Development, a top global recognition in the field of education for her work in improving learning outcomes in schools.
Besides Banerji, Eric Hanushek, a professor at Stanford University, has been conferred with the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Research.
Koichiro Matsuura, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Yidan Prize Judging Committee and former director-general of Unesco,
Founded in 2016 by Charles Chen Yidan, Yidan Prize has a mission to create a better world through education.
Yidan Prize for Education Research and Yidan Prize for Education Development.
Banerji is awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Development for her work in improving learning outcomes. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) assessment approach, pioneered by Dr Banerji and her team in India, revealed literacy and numeracy gaps among children who had already spent several years at school.
6. The Fifth Indian Ocean Summit is held in Abu Dhabi.
Summit focus is on the global power axis and the importance of the Indo-Pacific in the international system.
India Foundation’s Ram Madhav focused on the changes in the global power axis and highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific in it.
The theme of this year’s conference revolves around “focus upon Ecology, Economy and Epidemic”, and the conference is being organised by India Foundation in collaboration with the RSIS Singapore, Institute of National Security Studies, Sri Lanka, and the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, UAE.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar touched upon US policy in the region.
“Since 2008 we’ve witnessed greater caution in US power projection and an effort to correct its overextension,” said the External Affairs Minister.(Source: Ministry of External Affairs)
The conference also addressed the power-parity in the global system and there were around 200 delegates and over 50 speakers from 30 countries.
The conference also touched upon issues related to rising sea levels, climate change and issues concerning the littoral states in the region.
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in his address focused on the concerns on rising sea level and the impact it has on littoral states
“Fiji has faced critical problems with the rise in sea levels and climate change.”
7. The Centre has appointed Alka Upadhyaya as chairperson of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
1990-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, Upadhyaya is currently Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development.
Sanjay Bandopadhyay, Additional Secretary, has been named chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, a Personnel Ministry order said.
Dharmendra S Gangwar, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, will be Secretary, Department of Border Management. Sundeep Kumar Nayak has been appointed as Director General, National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade.
Upma Srivastava, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre, has been named Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Juthika Patankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been appointed as Secretary, Central Information Commission.
Anita Praveen, Special Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, will be Special Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries. She will take over as Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries upon superannuation of Pushpa Subramanyam by next month-end.
Amit Yadav, Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, has been moved as Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, the order said.
Ashish Srivastava, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, has been appointed Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.
G Asok Kumar, Mission Director, National Water Mission, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, will be Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga; while Neelam Shammi Rao has been appointed as Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.
Amit Agrawal will be Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, and Deepti Umashankar as Establishment Officer & Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training.
Vivek Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue and Hari Ranjan Rao, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, will now be Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications.
8. The government has expanded the SCALE committee.
Three new members, hailing from diverse industry backgrounds, according to an industry insider.
The new appointees are Panasonic India Chairman and CEO Manish Sharma, Toyota Kirloskar Vice-Chairman Vikram S Kirloskar, and Asian Paints co-promoter and Chairman Addverb Technologies Jalaj Dani, he said.
Currently, the 14-member Steering Committee for Advancing Local Value-Add and Exports (SCALE) committee is headed by former Mahindra CEO Pawan Goenka.
Besides, Invest India CEO Deepak Bagla, PI Industries CMD Salil Singhal and JSW Steel Group CFO Sehshagiri Rao are on the board of the SCALE Committee.
The SCALE Committee formed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been working closely with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the guidance of the ministry.
It has facilitated the development of two dozen working groups to address specific issues to accelerate local manufacturing. Each working group includes at least six-seven companies’ representatives from one manufacturing segment as well as liaisons with their respective ministries on effectively addressing the challenges.
9. Unix has signed Indian International cricketer Jasprit Bumrah as their Brand Ambassador.
UNIX is a popular Indian brand which offers the latest and widest range of mobile accessories for your smartphones.
Since its inception in 2006, UNIX has been headquartered in Mumbai and a manufacturing facility in Gujarat.
Sandeep Bafna is confident that the association of Unix Brand with Jasprit Bumrah would help them connect with the youth of India among whom cricket as a sport is the most popular one.
Summing it up aptly Krunal Bafna added that “Jasprit’s association with Unix is in line with our strategic business goals and we are confident that this would be one of the key milestones towards our 2025 mission”.
10. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Russia’s defence minister Gen. Sergey Shoigu on Monday held the 20th meeting of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC).
Under this four agreements were signed, including a contract to manufacture over six lakh AK-203 assault rifles. The deal is worth Rs 5,124 crores. These guns will be produced at Korwa, in UP’s Amethi, in a boost to “Make-in-India ”.
The two sides also signed an agreement to renew the Programme for Military Technical Cooperation for another 10 years, till 2031.
The 7.62 X 39mm calibre AK-203 assault rifles, to be made in Korwa, will replace the in-service INSAS rifle inducted over three decades back. The AK-203, with an effective range of 300 metres, are lightweight, robust and easy-to-use modern assault rifles with proven technology that will enhance the combat potential of soldiers to adequately meet present and envisaged operational challenges.
They will enhance the operational effectiveness of the Indian Army in counter-insurgency operations.
The project will be implemented by a special purpose joint venture called Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd (IRRPL). It was created with the erstwhile OFB [now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd (AWEIL) and Munitions India Ltd (MIL)] of India and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and Kalashnikov of Russia.
The Russians dropped the royalty charge to bring down the cost of the project after it got stuck.
Russia has also started the delivery of air defence system S-400 Triumf, for which a Rs 35,000-crore deal was signed in 2018.
11. The Indian Navy launched ‘Sandhayak’, the first of the four large survey vessels, in Kolkata.
Adding a new feather to the Indian Navy, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) — a Defence PSU and a leading warship building company of India launched its first indigenously built Survey Vessel — ‘Sandhayak’ in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt.
Sandhayak is the first in the series of four ships under the Survey Vessel (Large) project for the Indian Navy.
The launch ceremony was attended by GRSE officials, India’s naval officials, members from Indian Armed Forces and other industry partners.
Indian State Defence Minister Ajay Bhatt, who was present at the launch ceremony, said that the ship’s launch is a new milestone for the country’s vision of ‘New India’ by 2030.
Fact Check about Indian Navy
- Motto (s): शं नो वरुण (Shaṁ No Varunaḥ)
- Translation. ‘May the Lord of Water be auspicious unto us’
- Headquarters: Integrated Defence Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi
- Founded: 26 January 1950
- Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
- Notable commanders: Admiral S. M. Nanda; Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli; Admiral Ram Dass Katari
