1. KUMBH MELA

Devotees with negative RT-PCR test report will only be allowed to enter the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

About:

• According to UNESCO, Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred Pitcher) is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth attended by millions of people. The congregation includes ascetics, saints, sadhus, aspirants-kalpavasis and visitors.
• During it, participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river as they believe that by doing this one gets freed from sins and thus liberating her/him from the cycle of birth and death.
• The festival is held at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik every four years by rotation. As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival.
• At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at Haridwar and Nashik; the fairs at Nashik and Ujjain are celebrated in the same year or one year apart.
• At Haridwar and Allahabad, an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held every sixth year.

 Source : All India Radio

2. ANNUITY CLAUSE GOES FOR NPS SUBSCRIBERS

The National Pension System (NPS) will no longer compel investors to convert 40% of their accumulated retirement corpus into an annuity, as poor yields and high inflation are translating into negative returns, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said.

About:

• The regulator will soon allow those saving up to ₹5 lakh to take the whole amount at retirement, up from ₹2 lakh at present.
• The pension fund regulator is also hoping to launch the first guaranteed return NPS scheme in the coming year.
• Separately, amendments will be made to the PFRDA Act of 2013 to allow NPS members with a balance over ₹5 lakh to retain 40% of the corpus in the NPS or wind it down over a few years through a system akin to a systematic withdrawal plan.
• Post-retirement, a person has to take 40% of the total corpus as an annuity as per the law’s mandate, and 60% can be commuted and taken as a lump sum.
• The Finance Ministry has announced plans to amend the PFRDA law since Budget 2019-20 and to make legislative changes to override the statutory annuitisation provision.

Source : The Hindu

3. STATE OF WORLD POPULATION REPORT 2021

The United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship ‘State of World Population Report 2021’ titled ‘My Body is My Own’ was launched.

Key findings:

• This is the first time a United Nations report has focused on bodily autonomy, defined as the power and agency to make choices about your body without the fear of violence or having someone else decide for you.
• Nearly half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, including using contraception, seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality.
• In countries where data is available, only 55% of women are fully empowered to make choices over healthcare, contraception and the ability to say yes or no to sex. It also highlights that only 75% of countries legally ensure full and equal access to contraception.
• Some examples of violation of bodily autonomy include, child marriage, female genital mutilation, a lack of contraceptive choices leading to unplanned pregnancy, unwanted sex exchanged for a home and food or when people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities cannot walk down a street without fearing assault or humiliation.
• Under its ambit also fall people with disabilities stripped of their rights to self-determination, to be free from violence and to enjoy a safe and satisfying sexual life.
• Women around the world are denied the fundamental right of bodily autonomy with the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbating this situation.

Source : The Hindu

4. E-VISA

The Union Home Ministry has restored the electronic visa (e-visa) facility for foreigners from 156 countries who intend to visit India for business, conferences and medical reasons, including for medical attendants. E-visa for tourists is yet to be restored.

About:

• An e-visa is provided in five categories — tourist, business, conference, medical, and medical attendant.
• Under the arrangement, a foreigner can apply online four days prior to travel.
• After the details are verified, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is generated, which has to be presented at the immigration checkpost on arrival.
• Entry through e-visas is allowed only at 28 designated international airports and five major seaports in India.
• Though available to people of 171 countries before restrictions were announced in 2020, the facility has been restored only for 156. China, the U.K., Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are notable exclusions. The relaxation comes in the wake of a deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source : The Hindu

5. AFGHANISTAN

The announcement by President Joe Biden that the US will withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, has sent tremors through the region’s fault-lines.

About:

• Unlike the Trump Administration, which made its troop withdrawal by May 1 conditional — on Taliban taking steps to prevent al-Qaeda or any other group from sheltering in Afghanistan, and agreeing to a dialogue on power sharing with the Afghan government — the Biden plan has no strings attached.
• There are about 2,500-3,500 US troops in Afghanistan at present, plus a NATO force of under 8,000. A co-ordinated withdrawal is expected to begin soon.
• After withdrawing, the U.S. and NATO aim to rely on Afghan military and police forces, which they have developed with billions of dollars in funding, to maintain security though peace talks are struggling and the insurgency is resilient.
• September 11 is a highly symbolic date as it will be 20 years since al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. with hijacked airliners, triggering military intervention in Afghanistan.
• An integral part of NATO’s current mission, Resolute Support, is to train and equip Afghan security forces fighting the Islamist Taliban.

Impact on Afghanistan

• Biden’s announcement has removed all incentives for the Taliban to agree for a dialogue with the Afghan government.
• After the full withdrawal of troops, Taliban are likely to see the war, which they believe they have already won, to its completion.

Source : The Hindu

6. AZHDARCHID PTEROSAURS

Azhdarchid pterosaurs, the giant reptiles that flew in the skies nearly 65 million years ago, had necks longer than that of a giraffe (on average a giraffe’s neck is about 6 feet long).

About:

• Now, researchers have reported a new finding about their long necks — that the thin neck vertebrae were supported by an intricate internal structure that is unlike anything seen before.
• Pterosaurs are reptiles that are close cousins of dinosaurs, the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight.
• Pterosaurs went extinct about 65-66 million years ago (end of the Cretaceous period).
• Azhdarchid pterosaurs are one type of pterosaur and one of the distinguishing characteristics about them is how big they were, especially their long necks.

Source : Indian Express

7. PONZI SCHEME

Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street financier who was sentenced to 150 years after being convicted for what came to be known as the largest and most devastating Ponzi scheme in financial history, died in the US.

About:

• A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors.
• The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity (e.g. product sales and/or successful investments), and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.
• Ponzi schemes rely on a constant flow of new investments to continue to provide returns to older investors. When this flow runs out, the scheme falls apart.
• The term "Ponzi Scheme" was coined after a swindler named Charles Ponzi in 1919. However, the first recorded instances of this sort of investment scam can be traced back to the mid-to-late 1800s.

Source : Indian Express

8. PUNJAB’S NEW NUTRIENT RICH CROP & VEGETABLE VARIETIES

Punjab has come up with offerings of a bouquet of improved crop and vegetable varieties which are rich in nutrients.

About:

• ‘PAU 1 Chapatti’ with low polyphenols and outstanding processing qualities has been shortlisted for commercialization whereas wheat candidate varieties having high grain protein, high zinc, low phytates and high carotenoids have been developed.
• Besides this, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has offered to growers two carotene rich cherry tomato varieties called Punjab Sona and Punjab Kesar and two anthocyanin rich brinjal varieties called Punjab Raunak and Punjab Bharpoor with antioxidant properties.
• The varieties and genetic stocks have been developed by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) with support from the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) grant provided by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.

Source : PIB

9. NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA (NIXI)

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) inaugurated three initiatives for National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

About:

• IPv6 Expert Panel (IP Guru): IP Guru is a group to extend support to all the Indian entities who are finding it technically challenging to migrate and adopt IPv6. It’s a joint effort of DOT, MeitY & community to promote IPv6. The expert panel group comprises members from government and private organizations.
• NIXI Academy: NIXI Academy is created to educate technical/non-technical people in India to learn and relearn technologies like IPv6 which are normally not taught in Educational Institutes.
• NIXI-IP-INDEX: NIXI has developed an IPv6 index portal for the Internet community. NIXI-IP-INDEX portal will showcase the IPv6 adoption rate in India and across the world.

About NIXI

• National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization (section 8 of the Companies Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through the following activities:
• Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISP’s, Data Centers and CDNs.
• .IN Registry, managing and operation of .IN country code domain and .भारत IDN domain for India.
• IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6).

Source : PIB

10. NATIONAL STARTUP ADVISORY COUNCIL (NSAC)

Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal chaired the first meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC).

About:

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.
• Besides the ex-officio members, the council has a number of non-official members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India, persons capable of representing interest of investors into startups, persons capable of representing interests of incubators and accelerators, representatives of associations of stakeholders of startups and representatives of industry associations.

Source : PIB