16 JUNE 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION (UNCCD)

PM Modi delivered keynote address at the UN 'high-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought'. He spoke at the Opening Segment in his capacity as the President of the 14th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP) of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Key highlights of his address

• In last 10 years, around 3 million hectares of forest cover added in India, enhancing the combined forest cover to almost one-fourth of the country's total area.
• India is on track to achieve its national commitment of Land degradation neutrality.
• India is also working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. This will achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
• He gave an example of the Banni region in Rann of Kutch in Gujarat to illustrate how restoration of land can start a virtuous cycle of good soil health, increased land productivity, food security and improved livelihoods.

Important Info :

• United nations convention to combat desertification (UNCCD):
• It is the first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification.
• 1992: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or so called Rio Earth Summit of 1992 resulted in 5 document’s. One of them was Agenda 21. UNCCD stems from a direct recommendation of agenda 21.
• 1994: UNCCD was finally adopted in Paris, France on June 17, 1994. That’s why June 17 has been observed as the ‘World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD).
• 1996: It was ratified in December 1996 and thus came into force
• Its secretariat has been located in Bonn, Germany.

Source : All India Radio

2.NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)

In a summit statement in Brussels, NATO leaders have declared China a constant security challenge and said the Chinese are working to undermine global order.

About:

• NATO is also called the North Atlantic Alliance.
• Objective: It is an intergovernmental military alliance between North American and European countries. It constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.

HQ: Brussels, Belgium.

• Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the headquarters of the NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO). Since 1967 it has been located in Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons.
• Origin: The alliance is based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed in 1949. It was formed as an alliance of European and North American countries after World War II as a bulwark against Russian aggression

Member Countries:

• It consists of 30 members. Montenegro joined it in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020.
• Of the 30 member countries, two are located in North America (Canada and the United States), 28 are in Europe, one of which (Turkey) is in both Europe and Asia.
• Three former Soviet states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are members of NATO.

Source : The Hindu

3.JIVAN VAYU

IIT Ropar has developed nation's first power-free CPAP device 'Jivan Vayu'. This substitute of CPAP machine can function even without electricity.

About:

• It is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units like O2 cylinders and oxygen pipelines in hospitals. These provisions are not available in otherwise existing CPAP machines.
• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a treatment method for patients having breathing problems during sleep called sleep apnea.
• The machine uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open for easy breathing. It is also used to treat infants whose lungs have not fully developed. The machine blows air into the baby's nose to help inflate his or her lungs.
• The treatment is all the more necessary during early stages of the Covid-19 infection. It reduces lung damage and allow patients to recover from the inflammatory effects. 

Source : PIB

4.DAGMARA HE PROJECT

NHPC signs MoU with Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation (BSHPC) for Implementation of 130.1 MW Dagmara HE Project.

About:

• It would come up on Kosi River in Suapul district, Bihar.
• The project will be located near village Bhaptiahi on the left bank, about 31 km downstream of Bhimnagar barrage on Kosi River.
• The 130.1 MW Dagmara HE Project, the largest hydropower project of Bihar is to be implemented by NHPC on ownership basis.

Important Info :

NHPC

• NHPC Limited (erstwhile National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) is a Category-A Miniratna Company under Ministry of Power, Govt. of India in the field of Hydropower.
• Currently, NHPC has 24 operational power stations with a total installed capacity of 7071 MW.
• Founded in: 1975.
• Headquarters: Faridabad, Haryana.

Source : Business Standard

5.SIPRI YEAR BOOK 2021

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) launched the findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2021, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security.

Numbers

• The nine nuclear armed states — the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — together possessed an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021.
• Russia and the U.S. together possessed over 90% of global nuclear weapons.
• India possessed an estimated 156 nuclear warheads at the start of 2021, compared with 150 at the start of last year, while Pakistan had 165 warheads, up from 160 in 2020.
• China’s nuclear arsenal consisted of 350 warheads, up from 320 at the start of 2020.

Important Info :

• Signs that decline in nuclear arsenals has stalled
• The nine nuclear-armed states together possessed an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021. This marked a decrease from the 13,400 possessed at the beginning of 2020.
• Despite this overall decrease, the estimated number of nuclear weapons currently deployed with operational forces increased to 3825, from 3720 last year.
• Around 2000 of these—nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA—were kept in a state of high operational alert.

Source : The Hindu

6.THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (TPNW)

The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in early 2021 highlights the growing divide between the nuclear-armed states and other countries that are impatient to see progress on nuclear disarmament promised by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

About:

• Name: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is also known as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty.
• What is it? it is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination.
• Timeline: It was adopted in July 2017 and came into force in January 2021.
• Membership: As of March 2021, 54 states have ratified or acceded to the treaty, most recently Comoros in February 2021.

Strategy:

• For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities.
• For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme.
• Need of Treaty: The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 contains only partial prohibitions, and nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties prohibit nuclear weapons only within certain geographical regions.

Source : SIPRI

7.TULU

Various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution.

About

• Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. The native speakers of Tulu are referred to as Tuluva or Tulu people and the geographical area is unofficially called Tulu Nadu.
• The Indian census report of 2011 reported a total of 1,846,427 native Tulu speakers in India. The 2001 census had reported a total of 1,722,768 native speakers.
• Features: Separated early from Proto-South Dravidian, Tulu has several features not found in Tamil–Kannada. For example, it has the past perfect and the future perfect, like French or Spanish, but formed without an auxiliary verb.
• Status: At present, Tulu is not an official language in the country. Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
• Tulu art, culture and cinema: Tulu has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana. Tulu also has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year. 

Source : Indian Express

8.EIGHTH SCHEDULE TO THE CONSTITUTION

Various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution.

Constitutional provisions relating to Eighth Schedule

• The Constitutional provisions relating to the Eighth Schedule occur in article 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.
• Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement.
• Article 351 of the Constitution provides that it shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule.

Important Info :

• List of languages in the Eighth Schedule
• The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:- (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.
• Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
• Sindhi language was added in 1967.
• Thereafter three more languages viz., Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included in 1992.
• Subsequently Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added in 2004.

Source : Indian Express

9.WORLD GIVING INDEX 2021

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) released the World Giving Index 2021 report. The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a leading international charity registered in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1974.

World Giving Index (WGI)

• The World Giving Index (WGI) is an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation and ranks over 140 countries in the world according to how charitable they are.
• The first edition was released in September 2010.
• The WGI is a global survey, which asks people three questions: In the last month have you…
• Helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help?
• Donated money to a charity?
• Volunteered your time to an organisation?
• The index measures countries by proportion of population giving rather than how much they give. 

Important Info :

• Country rankings
• The most generous country in the world is Indonesia.
• Australia and New Zealand the only high income countries to remain in this year’s Top 10.
• India is 14th most charitable country.
• Scores for India rapidly improved between 2017 and 2019, and this improvement was maintained during 2020.
• The improvement in India is seen across all the age groups and amongst both men and women.
• 61 per cent of Indians helped strangers; 34 per cent volunteered; and 36 per cent donated money.

Source : All India Radio

10.VEDIC EDUCATION BOARD

The Congress government in Rajasthan will set up a Vedic Education and Sanskar Board to revive the knowledge of ancient Sanskrit scriptures and connect the learnings of the Vedas with science and yoga.

About:

• The board is likely to be set up in the coming four to five months.
• The ruling Congress had promised the establishment of the Vedic Education and Sanskar Board as well as steps to promote Sanskrit language and education in its manifesto for the 2018 State Assembly election. 

Source : The Hindu