Daily Current Affairs Date 24th of June 2021
Topics
- : Suicide worldwide in 2019.
- Gujarat launches Agricultural Diversification Scheme.
- BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit.
- Cabinet approves merger of CWC – CRWC.
- Delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir.
- What is gain-of-function research?
- MOU signed to conserve black softshell turtle.
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Questions-
Q- Recently Suicide worldwide in 2019 report was published by World Health Organization (WHO).
Which of the following statement is or are correct ?
- 30 countries have a national suicide prevention strategy
- 58% of the suicides occurred before the age of 50 years 3. 77% of global suicides occurred in low-income and middle-income countries in 2019.
Options-
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 1, 2 and 3
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 2 and 3 only
WHO Report: Suicide worldwide in 2019
- Suicide worldwide in 2019 report was published by World Health Organization (WHO).
- Report finds that, reducing global suicide mortality rate by a third is an indicator as well as a target in United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- But world will not be able to reach this target.
- Only 38 countries have a national suicide prevention strategy, as of now.
- Suicide crisis was already in place in 2019.
- About 7,03,000 people (one in 100) died by suicide in 2019.
- In 2019, global age-standardized suicide rate was 9.0 per 1,00,000 population.
- 58% of the suicides occurred before the age of 50 years.
- Suicide was fourth-leading cause of death in young people aged 15-29 worldwide in 2019.
- 77% of global suicides occurred in low-income and middle-income countries in 2019.
- Africa, Europe and South-East Asia accounted for suicide rates higher than world’s average.
Suicides in India
- As per the WHO report, India has highest suicide rate in Southeast Asian region.
- National Crime Records Bureau shows that, about 1,34,516 cases of suicide were reported in 2018.
- Rate of suicide was 9.9 in 2017 which increased to 10.2 in 2018.
Question
Q- Which state launched Agricultural Diversification Scheme?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Madhya Pradesh
c) Gujarat
d) Rajasthan
Gujarat launches Agricultural Diversification Scheme.
- Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, e-launched Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021 which will benefit vanbandhu- farmers in tribal areas.
- It seeks to make agriculture sustainable and profitable in tribal areas.
About the scheme
- Scheme will benefit some 1.26 lakh farmers from 14 tribal districts of the state.
- Under this scheme, tribal farmers will be provided fertilizer-seed assistance of Rs. 31 crores.
- About 45 kg of urea, 50 kg of NPK and 50 kg of ammonium sulphate will be provided to these farmers.
- Seeds of crops such as maize, millet, tomato, Bitter Melon (karela), Calabash (dudhi) etc. will be provided under this scheme.
What state government has done to provide water?
- State government has also undertaken works to deliver irrigation water at high altitudes through several lift irrigation schemes in hilly areas of tribal districts. These schemes would enable tribal farmers to cultivate on their own.
Tribal districts in Gujarat
- Scheduled areas or Tribal areas of Gujarat are distributed across Tapi district, Bharuch district, Dangs district & taluka, Valsad district, Panchmahal district, Vadodara district, Saurashtra region, Sabarkantha district and Surat District.
- As per census 2011, population of Gujarat was 60,439,692 out of which 8,917,174 persons are Scheduled Tribes (STs). They constitute about 14.75 percent of total population of Gujarat.
QUESTION
Q- With reference to BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit. Consider the following statements:
- NTPC is pioneering Green Hydrogen Initiatives in India
- China hosted the summit on Green Hydrogen initiatives involving the BRICS nations.
- According to The Potential Role of Hydrogen in India the cost of hydrogen from renewables would drop by over 50% by 2030.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit
- India’s largest energy integrated company, NTPC Ltd, anchored two-day BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit.
- Green Hydrogen is one of the most popular and demanding fields in current times and is considered as next carrier of energy.
- Online event was attended by experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) countries.
- BRICS countries shared their insights and professional views on subject and latest developments of their countries in the field of green hydrogen.
- Key notes from expert highlights that, government & industry must work together to ensure that existing regulations are not an unnecessary barrier to investment.
Significance of BRICS in bringing green hydrogen
- Five BRICS countries have a common vision of sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.
- Strategic areas of importance for grouping include- strengthening energy cooperation & ensuring affordable, reliable, accessible and secured energy for all.
- BRICS countries are capable of ensuring a net-zero carbon emission because the cost of deployment of emerging technologies in BRICS countries is a fraction as compared to developed countries.
Why focus is on green hydrogen?
- BRICS countries are focusing on green hydrogen because it has a great potential to ensure sustainable energy supply, increase level of energy availability and minimize negative impact on environment.
Questions
Q- Consider the following statement regarding merging of merger of CWC-CRWC.
- It will reduce the expenditure by 5 crores in RWC’s
- It will unify similar functions of both companies.
- It will generate employment opportunities for 36,500-man days for skilled workers
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Cabinet approves merger of CWC-CRWC
- Union Cabinet has approved merger of Central Railside Warehouse Company (CRWC) and its holding enterprise Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) in order to unify similar functions of both the companies. Companies were merged with the aim of improving efficiency and increase financial savings
Significance of merger
- With the merger, it is expected that, management expenditure of Railside Warehouse Complexes (RWCs) will be reduced by Rs 5 crore due to savings in corporate office rent, salary of employees and other administrative costs.
- India & Saint Vincent and The Grenadines signed agreement for exchange of information & assistance to collect taxes which will help in India’s fight against offshore tax evasion and tax avoidance practices.
- CRWC & CWC merger will unify similar functions of both companies, like warehousing, handling, and transportation.
- These functions would come under single administration which in turn will promote efficiency, optimum capacity utilisation, accountability, transparency and ensure financial savings.
- It will help in setting up at least 50 more Railside warehouses near goods-shed locations which will generate employment opportunities for 36,500-man days for skilled workers and 9,12,500-man days for unskilled workers.
Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC)
- CRWC is a Public Sector Enterprise of Mini-Ratna status of Category-II. It was incorporated on in 2007 under the Companies Act, 1956.
Question
Q- Consider the following statements:
- Under Article 82, the Parliament can enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
- Once the Delimitation Act is in force, President of India sets up the Delimitation Commission.
Which of the given above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir:
- The Union government’s invitation to 14 key political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for a meeting with the Prime Minister in the national capital this week has led to speculation about possible scheduling of the Assembly elections.
- On Independence Day last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said elections would be held in J&K after the delimitation process in the Union Territory was over.
- Delimitation is crucial for kick-starting the political process in J&K.
What is delimitation and why is it needed?
- Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
- This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
- The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
- Status of the Delimitation Commission set up in 2020 Although the Commission was tasked to finish delimitation in a year, on March 4 this year, it was granted a year’s extension.
- This was done on the request of the panel members since it couldn’t make much progress due to the Covid-19-induced shutdown across the country.
- Moreover, J&K State Election Commissioner Sharma was appointed only on October 30 last year, following which he was busy with the District Development Council (DDC) polls in J&K that concluded last December.
- So, in effect, the Commission could start functioning properly, with all members in place, only this year. In February, it called a meeting of its five associate members, of who just two attended.
Questions-
Q- The term ‘gain of function research’ is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to:
(a) Human space travel
(b) Ocean thermal energy
(c) Bioremediation
(d) None of the above
What is gain-of-function research ?
- Due to unanswered questions into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, both the U.S. government and scientists have called for a deeper examination into the validity of claims that a virus could have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.
- Much of the discussion surrounds “gain-of-function” research
What is gain of function research?
- In its simplest form, gain of function research refers to a process that alters some aspect of the way an organism functions.
- Gain of function research is used in many ways, but the process turns controversial when scientists use it to make pathogens more infectious, particularly to humans.
- That is done so researchers can begin to develop a defense for the pathogen before it has a chance to evolve into something deadly to animals or humans.
- Those who favor gain of function research say the knowledge that is gained by enhancing viruses to develop vaccines against a potential outbreak outweighs the risk of a virus escaping a laboratory and causing a pandemic.
- Those who are against gain of function research say it is simply too risky to make viruses more deadly, especially considering there is a chance they can escape a laboratory.
Why are we talking about gain of function now?
- As researchers try to find the origin of the COVID-19 virus, some have suggested that it may have escaped a laboratory in Wuhan, China, going on to infect people around the world.
- President Joe Biden last week asked the national intelligence community to redouble efforts to investigate where the virus originated.
- Biden released a statement revealing that the U.S. intelligence community has “coalesced around two likely scenarios” for the origins of COVID-19, “including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.”
- Former President Donald Trump, speaking to Fox Nation’s Dan Bongino in May, said he had “very little doubt” that the virus came from a lab.
Q- Consider the following statements about Black Softshell Turtle:
- It is a freshwater species.
- It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
- In India, hunting of Black Softshell Turtle is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Which of the given above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
MoU signed to conserve black softshell turtle
A major temple in Assam has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two green NGOs, the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden and the Kamrup district administration for long-term conservation of the rare freshwater black softshell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans).
Turtle Conservation:
National Marine Turtle Action Plan:
- It contains ways and means to not only promote inter-sectoral action for conservation but also guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders on the response to cases of stranding, entanglement, injury or mortality of marine mammals and also conservation of marine turtles.
Indian Ocean Sea Turtle Agreement (IOSEA):
- India is a signatory to the Indian Ocean Sea Turtle Agreement (IOSEA) of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), a United Nations backed initiative.
- It puts in place a framework through which States of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian region, as well as other concerned States, can work together to conserve and replenish depleted marine turtle populations for which they share responsibility.
KURMA App:
- It has a built-in digital field guide covering 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India.
- It was developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.
About Black Softshell Turtle:
- Scientific Name: Nilssonia nigricans
Features:
- They look almost the same as the Indian peacock softshell turtle (Nilssonia hurum), which is classified as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
Also Read: Daily Current Affairs Date 23rd of June 2021
Habitat:
- A freshwater species and there are 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises found in India.
- They are found in ponds of temples in northeastern India and Bangladesh.
- Its distribution range also includes the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries.
