CURRENT AFFAIRS 12 MAY 2021

1. OSIRIS-REx MISSION / ASTEROID BENNU

On May 11, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will depart asteroid Bennu, and start its two-year long journey back to Earth.

Bennu

Bennu is an asteroid located about 200 million miles away from the Earth.
Bennu is named after an Egyptian deity. The asteroid was discovered by a team from the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team in 1999.
Bennu is a B-type asteroid, implying that it contains significant amounts of carbon and various other minerals.

Significance of bennu

Bennu is considered to be an ancient asteroid that has not gone through a lot of composition-altering change through billions of years, which means that below its surface lie chemicals and rocks from the birth of the solar system.
Therefore, scientists and researchers are interested in studying this asteroid as it might give them clues about the origins of the solar system, the sun, the Earth and the other planets.

OSIRIS-Rex

OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey its surface and collect a sample from it.
The mission is essentially a seven-year-long voyage and will conclude when at least 60 grams of samples are delivered back to the Earth. The mission promises to bring the largest amount of extra-terrestrial material back to our planet since the Apollo era.
The mission was launched in 2016, it reached its target in 2018 and since then, the spacecraft has been trying to match the velocity of the asteroid using small rocket thrusters. It also utilised this time to survey the surface and identify potential sites to take samples.
The spacecraft contains five instruments meant to explore Bennu including cameras, a spectrometer and a laser altimeter.

Source : Indian Express

2. BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT (BRSR)

Regulator SEBI came out with disclosure requirements under business responsibility and sustainability reporting, covering environmental, social and governance perspectives, which will be applicable on the top 1,000 listed entities by market capitalisation.

About:

The new report -- Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)-- will replace the existing Business Responsibility Report (BRR).
The move is expected to bring in greater transparency and enable market participants to identify and assess sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
Under BRSR, listed entities need to disclose about an overview of the entity's material ESG (environmental, social and governance) risks and opportunities, approach to mitigate or adapt to the risks along with financial implications of the same.
In addition, sustainability related goals and targets and performance against the same need to mentioned in the report, it added.
Environment related disclosures cover aspects such as resource usage (energy and water), air pollutant emissions, green-house (GHG) emissions, transitioning to circular economy, waste generated and waste management practices, bio-diversity.
Social related disclosures would cover the workforce, value chain, communities and consumers.
At communities level, listed entities will have to make disclosures on Social Impact Assessments (SIA), Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Corporate Social Responsibility, among others.
The BRSR will be applicable on the top 1,000 listed entities by market capitalization.
SEBI said the reporting would be on voluntary basis for financial year 2021-22 and on a mandatory basis from 2022-23.
The filing of the BRR containing ESG disclosures was first introduced for listed entities in 2012 and since then, a number of developments have taken place.
With the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change and UN sustainable development goals, adapting to and mitigating climate change impact and transitioning to sustainable economies have emerged as major issues globally.

Source : The Hindu

3. KR GOURI AMMA

Veteran Communist leader and the leader of Janadipathya Samrakshana Samiti (JSS), K.R. Gouri Amma passed away in Thiruvananthapuram due to age-related ailments. She was 102 years old.

About:

R. Gouri Amma was an Indian politician and the first revenue minister of Kerala state.
She was a Marxist revolutionary, advocate, author and diplomat.
She was also one of the founding leaders of the Communist movement in Kerala.
She headed the Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS), a political party based in Kerala, a rebel outfit she had formed in 1994 after her ouster from CPI (M).
She was the first female law student coming from the Ezhava community. She was a minister in the communist-led ministries in Kerala in 1957, 1967, 1980 and 1987. She also became a minister in the Congress-led cabinet from 2001 to 2006.
She had been a minister in the first democratically elected Communist Government of 1957 in Kerala led by E M S Namboodiripad. As the revenue minister in the EMS cabinet, Gouri had drafted and piloted the historic Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill, which paved the way for land reforms.
She has been the longest serving woman legislator in the Kerala Assembly, the oldest woman member in the Assembly, the oldest woman Minister etc.
She published an autobiography titled Atmakatha, which won the 2011 Kerala Sahitya Academy Award.

Source : The Hindu

4. JAL JEEVAN MISSION

Puducherry has become the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ Union Territory by ensuring that every rural home gets a household tap connection.

About:

Puducherry has now become the fourth state or UT after Goa, Telangana and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to provide assured tap water supply to every rural home under Central Government’s flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission, JJM.
JJM is a flagship programme of the Union Government, which aims to provide tap water connection to every rural household of the country by 2024.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission, in 2021-22, in addition to Rs 50,011 Crore budgetary allocation for JJM, there is also Rs 26,940 Crore assured fund available under the 15th Finance Commission tied-grant to RLB/ PRIs for water & sanitation, matching State share and externally aided as well as State funded projects.

Source : All India Radio

5. SHEIKH ZAYED BOOK AWARD

Prominent German philosopher Juergen Habermas had turned down the Sheikh Zayed Book Award over its ties “with the existing political system” in the UAE, a hereditarily ruled country long criticised for its suppression of dissent.

About:

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award begun in the UAE.
The award is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE when the federation of seven sheikhdoms became a country in 1971.
While describing itself as an “independent” initiative, the prize is administered by Abu Dhabi culture and tourism authorities.
The "Cultural Person of the Year" is the premier category, it includes an award of one million Dirhams (around $300,000) while the other categories receive around $200,000 each.

Important Info :

Habermas was named the Cultural Personality of the Year, a distinction that carries a cash prize of 1 million dirhams.
Habermas’ influential writings on human rights, morality and democracy, among other topics, have stirred debate in Germany and beyond.

Source : The Hindu

6. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC)

Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant, a former Supreme Court judge, has been appointed the Acting Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with effect from April 25, the commission said.

About:

Background: NHRC was established in 1993. It is in conformity with the Paris Principles, adopted at the first international workshop on national institutions for the protection of human rights held in Paris in 1991.
Status: It is a statutory organization established under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993.
It is headquartered in New Delhi.
Functions:
- The purpose of the NHRC is, suo moto or through the petition of a person, to investigate the violation of human rights or the failures of the state or other to prevent a human rights violation.
- The commissions may also take on research about human rights, create awareness campaigns through various mediums, and encourage the work of NGOs.
Composition:
- The Commission consists of a Chairperson, four full-time Members and four deemed Members.
- The statute lays down qualifications for the appointment of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission. A Chairperson, should be retired Chief Justice of India.

Important Info :

Justice Pant was appointed a member of the NHRC on April 22, 2019.
The post of Chairperson has been vacant since the former Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu completed his tenure on December 2.

Source : The Hindu

7. SEBI PITCHES FOR ‘PERSON IN CONTROL’ OVER ‘PROMOTER’

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed to rationalise the definition of ‘promoter group’ and move to the concept of ‘person in control’ as well as lower the minimum lock-in periods for promoters and other shareholders after an IPO.

About:

SEBI has suggested rationalising the definition of ‘promoter group’ as the current definition focusses on encompassing holdings by a common group of individuals or persons and often results in including unrelated companies with common financial investors.
The regulator has proposed to do away with the current definition of promoter group as the deletion would rationalise the disclosure burden and bring it in line with the post listing disclosure requirement.
Citing the changing investor landscape, SEBI said there was a need to revisit the concept of ‘promoter’ to a concept of ‘person in control’ and a period of three years has been proposed for such a shift over in a smooth and progressive manner without causing disruption.
With regard to lock-in periods, SEBI has proposed that if the objective of the issue involves offer for sale or financing other than for capital expenditure for a project, then the minimum promoters’ contribution of 20% should be locked-in for one year from the date of allotment in the Initial Public Offer (IPO). Currently, the lock-in period is three years.
SEBI has sought comments from the public on the proposals, the window being open till June 10.

Source : The Hindu

8. INDIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY LIMITED (IREDA)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. IREDA has been conferred with “Green Urja Award” for being the Leading Public Institution in Financing Institution for Renewable Energy this year by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

About:

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
IREDA is a Public Limited Government Company established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 1987.
IREDA has been notified as a “Public Financial Institution” under section 4 ‘A’ of the Companies Act, 1956 and registered as Non-Banking Financial Company (NFBC) with Reserve Bank of India (RBI). IREDA’s Motto is “Energy for Ever.”
IREDA is the only dedicated institution for financing Renewable Energy (RE) & Energy Efficiency (EE) projects in India. Since, its inception the company has played a catalytic role in developing market for financing RE & EE projects.
IREDA has over the years sanctioned loans aggregating to Rs. 96,601 crores, disbursed Rs. 63,492 cores and supported more than 17,586 MW of RE capacity in the country till date.

Source : PIB

9. INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY, 2021

The International Nurses and Midwives Day is celebrated on May 12 every year

About:

The celebration of International Nurses Day started in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses(ICN).
This day is the birth anniversary of the famous Florence Nightingale.
She was an English nurse, social reformer, and statistician. During the Crimean war, she gained fame while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses, being the pillar of modern nursing. She brought a reputation for nursing and became an icon in Victorian culture.
The theme for this year’s International Nurses Day is Nurses: A Voice to Lead-A Vision for Future Healthcare.

Source : FirstPost

12 MAY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT SSB NDA COMPETITITVE EXAMS

CURRENT AFFAIRS 12 MAY 2021

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