08 MAY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS 

1. NATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING AUTHORITY (NFRA)

National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has prepared a provisional database of companies and auditors.

About:

• The National Financial Reporting Authority is a regulatory body set up under Section 132 of the Companies Act to oversee compliance with Accounting and Auditing Standards by companies that can be described as Public Interest Entities (PIEs).
• This group includes all listed companies, and large unlisted companies.
• To discharge this mandate, NFRA is in the process of creating a verified and accurate database of companies and auditors that come under the regulatory ambit of NFRA.
• Establishment of this data base involves critical steps like identification and verification of the primary data source, and reconciliation of data (such as Company Identification Number (CIN) which is dynamic) from different sources.
• In this regard the NFRA has been engaging with the Corporate Data Management (CDM) division of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and three recognised stock exchanges in India.
• A provisional data base of companies and their auditors as of 31st March 2019 has been compiled by the NFRA which has been published on the website of the NFRA.
• This provisional data will be updated/revised going forward based on the collection of further data and information. Similar exercise for compilation of the data base as of 31st March 2020 will be undertaken shortly.

Source : Economic Times

2. FOAM PATH

A medical flight made an emergency belly landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai after a wheel of the aircraft separated from its body. Mumbai airport officials sprayed foam on the runway to prevent fire as the Beechcraft VT-JIL aircraft made a belly landing.

About:

• A foam path is an aviation safety practice of spreading a layer of fire suppression foam on an airport runway prior to an emergency landing.
• Following a crash-landing, liquids leaking from the aircraft, which are not yet burning, start evaporating, thereby resulting in forming an air-vapour mixture that is flammable or even highly explosive.
• In such cases, extinguishing foam is used preventively and the liquid is covered with a foam carpet as a vapor barrier.
• Airport fire brigades create a foam carpet in order to secure an emergency landing if the landing gear of an aircraft is not extended or is unstable. This is done in order to suppress sparking and burning of any aircraft metals due to friction with the runway surface.

Important Info :

The concerns surrounding use of foam paths

Although originally it was thought that foam paths would prevent fires, the practice is now discouraged.

The International Civil Aviation Organization does not recommend foaming the runway in its Airport Services Manual, stating that the effectiveness of runway foaming is not fully substantiated by the real evidence of operational incident studies.

Source : Indian Express

3. PUNE METRO RAIL PROJECT

The Government of India (GoI) and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed the finance contract for second tranche of Euro 150 million for Pune Metro Rail project through a virtual signing ceremony.

About:

• EIB had approved the total loan of Euro 600 million to fund the Pune Metro Rail project.
• The Finance Contract for first tranche of Euro 200 million was signed between GoI and EIB on 22.7.2019.
• The project aims to provide efficient, safe, economic and pollution-free Mass Rapid Transit System in densely populated area in the city of Pune served with heterogeneous traffic options.
• The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MAHAMETRO) is the implementing agency for this project.

Source : Indian Express

4. PITCH-SIDING

During a match in Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Anti-Corruption Unit nabbed two individuals for allegedly pitch-siding, or court-siding.

About:

• Pitch or court-siding is having somebody inside a sports venue and passing on immediate match-related updates to a bookie, who can use that information to change the odds and accept or reject bets.
• The few seconds of lag it takes to be aired on television gives them the window of opportunity.
• Though pitch-siding doesn’t necessarily count as ‘match fixing’ as none of the action is rigged, it is a side-effect of competitive betting that sports organisers have been aiming to quell.

Important Info :

Is it illegal?

Not in all countries. Court-siding is not illegal in the UK, nor in New Zealand.

However, tickets to most sporting events have it mentioned that it is illegal in the ‘terms and conditions’ section. Therefore, an individual caught has breached a condition of entry at the venue and can be evicted and banned.

In India, betting is banned, therefore, any act of pitch-siding would be considered illegal.

Source : Indian Express

5. PUDUCHERRY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated N. Rangasamy on taking oath as Puducherry CM.

About:

• Puducherry is a Union Territory of India rather than a state, which implies that governance and administration fall directly under federal authority.
• However, Puducherry is one of the three union territories in India (the other being National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir) that is entitled by a special constitutional amendment to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby conveying partial statehood.
• The Pondicherry Representative Assembly was converted into the Legislative Assembly of Pondicherry on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of The Union Territories Act, 1963.
• The elections for the Puducherry Vidhan Sabha are held since 1964.

Source : PIB

6. VINDHYACHAL THERMAL POWER STATION

Considering the huge surge in COVID-19 cases in India, NTPC Vindhyachal , central Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Power is taking several steps to fight against the spread of the virus. NTPC Vindhya hospital is being used for treating COVID-19 infected employees.

About:

• The Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station is located in Singrauli district in Madhya Pradesh.
• One of the coal-fired power stations of NTPC, it is the largest power station in India, and the 9th largest coal-fired power station in the world, with an installed capacity of 4,760 MW.
• The coal for the power plant is sourced from Nigahi mines, and the water is sourced from the discharge canal of Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station.
• The beneficiary states of the project are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu and Dadar Nagar Haveli.

Source : PIB

7. ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN COVID

ACT Grants, Swasth Alliance and Feeding India to donate 50,000 oxygen concentrators nationally in May.

About:

• India, in the middle of the second wave of COVID-19, needs to rapidly augment oxygen supply to hospitals.
• In order to save as many lives as possible, ACT Grants (a not-for-profit movement created by the VC and start-up community in India), Swasth Alliance (a not-for-profit alliance of over 150+ healthcare organisations) and Feeding India (a not-for-profit run by Zomato) are working towards the goal of sourcing and distributing 50,000 oxygen concentrators.
• These oxygen concentrators will be donated across India free of cost, largely to various public health institutions and NGOs working for public health.
• These oxygen concentrators will be donated within the month of May.

Important Info :

ACT Grants, a coalition of Indian startup founders and VC firms first came together in March 2020 to battle the pandemic.

Swasth is an alliance of over 150+ healthcare organisations in the country, including hospitals, rural health NGOs, insurers, health tech, med-tech, and others.

Feeding India, is a not-for-profit organization by Zomato, which aims to reduce the problem of hunger within underserved communities in India.

Source : PIB

8. VACCINE DELIVERY BY DRONES

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) & Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to the Government of Telangana for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights for delivery of vaccines.

About:

• Exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System {UAS) Rules, 2021 has been granted as part of government’s constant endeavour to enhance the scope of drone usage in the country and assist the nation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Last month, the Government of Telangana was granted conditional exemption for conducting experimental delivery of Covid-19 vaccines within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Range using drones.
• To accelerate the drone deployment process to formulate application-based models, the grant has been extended to Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). The trials may commence by end of May 2021.
• This exemption shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of approval of the SOP or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Earlier this month, 20 consortia were also granted permission to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) experimental flights of drones. BVLOS trials will help create the regulatory framework for drone deliveries and other major applications.

Source : The Hindu

9. COVID BEEP

Union Minister of Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled the launch of COVID BEEP in June 2020 to supplement Country’s COVID infrastructure to fight the pandemic.

About:

• The COVID BEEP system has been developed by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and ESIC Medical College Hyderabad.
• It was India’s first indigenous, cost effective, wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for COVID-19 patients.

Source : PIB

10. KABASURA KUDINEER

Ayush Ministry launches nationwide distribution campaign of AYUSH 64 & Kabasura Kudineer to combat second surge of COVID-19.

About:

• The efficacy of these drugs has been proved through robust multi-centre clinical trials.
• Kabasura Kudineer, a Siddha medicine was also subjected to clinical trials for studying the efficacy in Covid-19 patients by Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) under Ministry of Ayush.
• AYUSH-64 is recommended in National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga which is vetted by National Task Force on COVID Management of ICMR and Guidelines for Ayurveda Practitioners for COVID-19 Patients in Home Isolation.
• Kabasura Kudineer is included in Guidelines for Siddha Practitioners for COVID 19, Ministry of Ayush Govt. of India.

Source : PIB