Daily Current Affairs Date 15th June 2021

Daily Current Affairs Date 15th June 2021

TOPICS

• Top 10 most liveable cities: Auckland tops EIU’s Global Liveability Ranking 2021.
• Rengma Nagas in Assam demand autonomous district council
• India ranks 55th in Global Home Price Index
• UNICEF Study on Ethiopia’s Malnourished Children
• India begins ‘Extension of Hospitals’ Project
• P. to launch ‘Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan’.
• SBI Launched ‘Kavach Personal Loan’ – Scheme for COVID-19 Treatment.

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Questions-

Q- With reference to the Global Liveability Ranking, consider the following statements:

1. It is an annual assessment published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
2. In 2021, Auckland rose to the top of the ranking.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a)1 only

b)2 only

c)Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Top 10 most liveable cities: Auckland tops EIU’s Global Liveability Ranking 2021.

• Auckland topped the EIU Global Liveability Ranking and scored highly on metrics including environment, culture, and education, the EIU reported.
• New Zealand has been recognized for its successful response to managing and containing coronavirus infection.
• “The cities that have risen to the top of the rankings this year are largely the ones that have taken stringent measures to contain the pandemic,” said Upasana Dutt, head of global liveability at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Cities that have topped the EIU rankings, why?

• Adequate measures by New Zealand at containing the pandemic allowed its cities like Auckland and Wellington to re-open and enjoy a lifestyle similar to pre-pandemic life, Dutt added.
• Adelaide, Osaka, Tokyo, and Wellington made up the top five Asia-Pacific cities on the 2021 edition of the EIU’s annual Global Liveability Ranking.
• Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland were among the non-Asia-Pacific cities to make it to the top 10 on the EIU ranking were for their standard of living.
• Cities that plunged in EIU rankings, why?
• Canadian and European cities suffered a major fall in their rankings due to strict lockdowns in place. Vienna, 2020 winner of EIU ranking plunged to 12th rank while Hamburg went to 47th from 34th rank.
• Honolulu in Hawaii was the biggest gainer that jumped to 14th rank after demonstrating a strong response at managing and containing the pandemic.
• Whereas, Damascus, the capital of Syria remained the world’s least liveable city due to the ongoing war. Damascus along with most of the last year’s top 10 least liveable cities in the bottom of EIU rankings remained in the bottom ten this year as well.

How was EIU ranking performed?

• Asia-specific cities dominated the top 10 rankings for their strong response to the pandemic.
• Each city was given a liveability ranking for more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors spread across five categories including education, infrastructure, healthcare, stability, and culture.

What is EIU’s Global Liveability Ranking?

• The Global Liveability Ranking is a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit that ranks 140 cities worldwide on the basis of a liveability score for more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors spread across five categories including education, infrastructure, healthcare, stability, and culture.
• The 2021 edition of the Global Liveability Ranking by EIU for the first time also took into consideration which cities dealt with the global pandemic in the best way.

Question

 Q- Consider the following statements:

1. The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides the tribals the freedom to exercise legislative and executive powers through Autonomous District Councils (ADCs).
2. Each ADC is allowed to have not more than 45 members, all of which are directly elected.
3. The State laws may/ may not be applicable in the Sixth Scheduled areas depending upon the approval of the Governor of the state.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 only

c) 3 only

d) 1 and 3 only

Rengma Nagas in Assam demand autonomous district council

• The Rengma Nagas in Assam have written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an autonomous district council amid a decision by the Central and the State governments to upgrade the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) into a territorial council.
• The Rengma Naga Peoples’ Council (RNPC), a registered body, said in the memorandum that the Rengmas were the first tribal people in Assam to have encountered the British in 1839, but the existing Rengma Hills was eliminated from the political map of the State and replaced with that of Mikir Hills (now Karbi Anglong) in 1951.
• Narrating its history, the council said that during the Burmese invasions of Assam in 1816 and 1819, it was the Rengmas who gave shelter to the Ahom refugees.
• The petition said that the Rengma Hills was partitioned in 1963 between Assam and Nagaland at the time of creation of Nagaland State and the Karbis, who were known as Mikirs till 1976, were the indigenous tribal people of Mikir Hills.
• Thus, the Rengma Hills and Mikir Hills were two separate entities till 1951. Karbis have no history in the Rengma Hills. People who are presently living in Rengma Hills are from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. They speak different dialects and do not know Karbi language of Karbi Anglong,” the memorandum said.
• RNPC president K. Solomon Rengma told The Hindu that the government was on the verge of taking a decision without taking them on board and thus they had written to Mr. Shah and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
• “How can they do this? We have been writing to them for many years. The KAAC population is around 12 lakh and the Karbis constitute only 3 lakhs, the remaining are non-Karbis, including the Rengma Nagas, whose population is around 22,000.
• We are also demanding a separate legislative seat for Rengmas,” he said

QUESTION

Q- What is Rank of India in in the Global Home Price Index for the 1st Quarter?

A) 55th

B) 72nd

C) 8th

D) 94th

India ranks 55th in Global Home Price Index

• India was ranked 55th in the Global Home Price Index for the 1st Quarter (Q1) ie; January to March 2021, which is 12 spots lower than its Q1 ranking of 43rd in 2020.
• Global Home Price Index is prepared by the London-based Knight Frank, which monitors housing prices in 56 countries.
• The ranking was topped by Turkey with 32% year-on-year (YoY) growth, followed by New Zealand and Luxembourg.
• Due to Covid-19 pandemic, India fell to the 56th spot in the October-December quarter of 2020
• Note- In January 2021, PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stones for 6 Light House Projects (LHPS), as part of the Global Housing Technology Challenge India (GHTC-India) initiative

Highlights of the Report:

• With 13.2% YoY annual growth rate, the United States
• of America saw the highest price change.
• Average Mainstream residential price of the 56 countries, recorded the highest growth of 7.3% in Q1 of 2021.

About Knight Frank:

Established – 1896

Headquarters – London, United Kingdom

Questions

Q- Which of the following statement are correct related to UNICEF Study on Ethiopia’s Malnourished Children?

1. They urged to prevent large-scale famine by means of a ceasefire
2. About 33,000 young children and babies are close to sickness and potential death from malnutrition
3. Study found that 353,000 people in Tigray region were living in severe crisis

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 3 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) All of the above

d) None of the above

UNICEF Study on Ethiopia’s Malnourished Children

UN Children’s agency, UNICEF has warned about 33,000 severely malnourished children in Tigray region of Ethiopia who are at high risk of death.

Background

• Tigray region has been devastated because of fighting between government forces and rebels in which about 1.7 million people displaced since conflict started in November 2020.

UNICEF Study

• UN-backed study found that 353,000 people in Tigray region were living in severe crisis while Ethiopian government nullify the finding and says aid is getting through.
• As per UNICEF, food situation in region has reached to level of a catastrophe.
• It is defined as starvation and death affecting small groups of people over large areas.
• About 33,000 young children and babies are close to sickness and potential death from malnutrition.
• Two million people are classed as on brink of severe crisis.

Ceasefire

• United States and European Union have jointly asked all warring parties to agree for a ceasefire and to allow aid to reach millions who are in need.
• They urged to prevent large-scale famine by means of a ceasefire.

What is the issue?

• In November 2020, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, had ordered ground and air military operation in Tigray.
• Operations were launched after accusing Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) (one the Ruling party) of attacking on federal army camps.
• This conflict has killed about thousands of people and left about five million in need of aid.
• Actual tensions between Ethiopian government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front started with appointment of Abiy Ahmed as prime minister of country in 2018.

Question

Q-Consider the following statement related to India’s “Extension of Hospitals”?

1) The Main Objective of this project is to bridge the gap in major health infrastructure to fight against Covid-19 in India.

2) This project is going to be headed by Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA)

3) It will also establish a joint a 100-bedded extension Bilaspur, Bengaluru.

Which of the following statement is or are correct?

a) 1 & 2

b) 2, 3

c) All of the above

d) None of the above

India begins ‘Extension of Hospitals’ Project

• India has started “Extension of Hospitals” project in several states to bridge the gap in major health infrastructure to fight against Covid-19 in India.
• Project will run especially in rural areas and smaller towns.
• Modular hospitals are an extension of hospital infrastructure.
• It will be built adjacent to existing hospital building.

What is the need of this project?

• Amid the second wave of Covid-19, hospitals infrastructures were under immense pressure.
• Thus, innovative modular hospitals will be coming up as huge relief.

Project ‘Extension Hospitals’

• To initiate the project, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) has invited private sector companies, donor organizations, and individuals.
• They will support the initiative along with several other projects of national importance.
• About 50 hospitals have been selected across the states where highest number of Covid-19 cases were reported.

MediCAB Hospitals

• MediCAB hospitals have been developed by Modulus Housing which is a start-up incubated at IIT-M.
• This will enable building a 100-bedded extension facility within 3-weeks. MediCAB hospitals have been designed with a dedicated zone of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) which can accommodate several life-support equipment and medical devices.
• These portable hospitals have durability of around 25 years.
• They can be shifted for any disaster response in less than a week in future.

First phase of project

• Under the first phase, 100 bedded hospitals will be commissioned at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh; Amravati, Pune & Jalna in Maharashtra; Mohali in Punjab while, 20-bed hospital will be established at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
• One each of 20, 50, and 100-beds will be commissioned in Bengaluru.

Questions-

Q-Which of the following statement is correct related to the Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan?

1)   It is launched by Madhya Pradesh Government.

2)   Main objective of this Project is to raise awareness among people on covid-19 pandemic.

3) Campaign will be run by Higher Education and Technical Education Department in association with Public Health and Family Welfare Department.

Options-

1. 1, 2
2. 2, 3
3. All of the above
4. None of the above

M.P. to launch ‘Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan’

• Madhya Pradesh will launch ‘Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan’ to raise awareness among people on covid-19 pandemic

Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan

• Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan means “free from corona with the help of youth power campaign”.
• Under the campaign, college teachers and about16 lakh students will be made aware of covid-19 infection by teaching them Covid appropriate behaviour and vaccination.
• Campaign will be run by Higher Education and Technical Education Department in association with Public Health and Family Welfare Department.
• For effective real time monitoring of campaign, mobile app has also been developed.

Covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh

• Madhya Pradesh is at 26th position in India in terms of corona infection.
• State is witnessing less than 500 cases in 24 hours for some days now.
• Not a single case has been reported in twenty districts. Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur witnessed cases in double digits.
• State is carrying about 80 thousand tests daily while the recovery rate has reached 98.3 percent.

Q- Which Bank Launched ‘Kavach Personal Loan’- Scheme for COVID-19 Treatment?

A) SBI

B) ICICI

C) HDFC

D) PNB

SBI Launched ‘Kavach Personal Loan’ – Scheme for COVID-19 Treatment.

• State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced a collateral free offering scheme called ‘Kavach Personal Loan’ to provide financial assistance to its customers to manage the COVID-19 treatment-related expenses.
• Under the term loan, the customers could avail collateral-free personal loan ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh at an interest rate of 8.5 percent per annum for 60 months which is inclusive of 3 months moratorium.
• The loan covers expenses of COVID-19 treatment of self and family members of the customer who are found COVID-19 Positive on or after April 1, 2021
• The scheme also has no processing fee and the loan has to be repaid in 57 EMIs (equated monthly instalments), including interest charged during Moratorium.
• Key points:
• Reimbursement of expenses already incurred for COVID-19 related medical expenses will also be provided under the scheme.
• This loan was a part of the COVID-19 loan book being created by banks as per RBI’s COVID-19 relief measures.
• About State Bank of India(SBI):

Also Read: Daily Current Affairs Date 13th & 14th June 2021

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