17 JUNE 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.NATO

In a 2021 summit statement, NATO leaders have expanded the use of their all for one, one for all, mutual defence clause to include a collective response to attacks in space.

About:

• Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty states that an attack on any one of the 30 allies will be considered an attack on them all. Until now, it’s only applied to more traditional military attacks on land, sea, or in the air, and more recently in cyberspace.
• In December 2019, NATO leaders declared space to be the alliance’s “fifth domain” of operations, after land, sea, air and cyberspace.
• Around 2,000 satellites orbit the earth, over half are operated by NATO countries. Around 80 countries have satellites, and private companies are moving in, too. 

Source : All India Radio

2.SEA TURTLE

World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated on 16 June, every year to educate people on the need to conserve the world’s Sea turtles and their habitats.

About:

• Turtles are the world’s oldest reptile groups in existence, across the world found even before lizards and snakes.
• The first few years of a marine turtle’s life are often referred to as the ‘lost years’. That’s because the time between when the hatchlings emerge until they return to coastal shallow waters to forage is incredibly difficult to study. The lost years they spend at sea – which can be up to 20 years – largely remain a mystery to humans.
• The seven species of sea turtle are Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Kemp’s Ridley, and Flatback. Out of these seven, two species, Hawksbill and Kemps Ridley are considered critically endangered.

Important Info :

Sea turtles of India:

• Turtles are found in India, in the coastal states of Odisha, Chennai, and Maharashtra.
• The country is home to five exquisite varieties of turtles, namely:
• Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
• Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate)
• Leathery Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
• Eastern Mud turtle (Kinosternun subrubum subrubum)
• India’s famous Green Sea turtles are the largest hard-shelled sea turtles and are about 120 cms in length and 136-159 kgs in weight.

Source : All India Radio

3.ADMM +

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus through video conferencing; says terrorism & radicalization gravest threats to peace and security in world.

About:

• The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) is a forum comprising 10 ASEAN member countries and 8 dialogue partner nations including India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
• The 15th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting is being hosted by Brunei as it is the chair of the ASEAN grouping this year.
• The ADMM-Plus forum aims to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region.
• The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. 

Source : The Hindu

4.SANKALP SE SIDDHI – MISSION VAN DHAN

Minister for Tribal Affairs launches the tribal livelihoods initiative “Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan”

About:

• TRIFED now plans to expand its operations through convergence of various schemes of different Ministries and Departments and launch the various tribal development programs in Mission Mode under “Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan” for expediting its implementation in a Mission mode.
• Through this mission, establishment of 50,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, 3000 Haat Bazaars, 600 Godowns, 200 Mini TRIFOOD Units, 100 Common Facility Centres, 100 TRIFOOD parks, 100 SFURTI clusters, 200 Tribes India retail stores, ecommerce platforms for TRIFOOD and Tribes India brands is being targeted.

Source : PIB

5.MSMEs

The Government of India has simplified the registration process for the Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises, MSMEs.

About:

• Now only PAN Card and Aadhaar will be required for registration of MSMEs.
• In order to boost the economic activities of MSMEs, the Government had announced a special incentive package of 20 lakh crore rupees under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Important Info :

What’s MSME?

• Revised Classification applicable w.e.f 1st July 2020
• Composite Criteria: Investment in Plant & Machinery/equipment and Annual Turnover
• For micro-enterprises, the limit for investment and turnover was increased to Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively while for small enterprises, the investment and turnover limit was increased from Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively to Rs 10 crore and Rs 50 crore.
• Likewise, for medium enterprises, the limit for investment was increased to Rs 50 crore and for turnover, the limit was increased to Rs 250 crore.

Source : Business Standard

6.JALGAON BANANA

A consignment of fibre and mineral rich GI CERTIFIED Jalgaon banana has been exported to Dubai from Tandalwadi village, Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. In 2016, Jalgaon Banana got GI certification which was registered with Nisargraja Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Jalgaon.

Production

• India is the world’s leading producer of bananas with a share of around 25 per cent in total output.
• Banana is widely grown in tropical, sub-tropical, and coastal region of India.
• Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer in India followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. All these states contribute more than 70 per cent of the country’s banana production.

Important Info :

Exports

• Country’s banana export has been rising sharply because of adoption of farm practices as per the global standards.
• The majority of banana exports from India are to West Asian and North African countries like UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.

Source : LiveMint

7.DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR (DFC)

The Indian Army has successfully conducted trial runs of military trains loaded with vehicles and equipment on the dedicated freight corridor. It ferried heavy equipment from New Rewari station in Haryana to New Phulera in Rajasthan.

Dedicated Freight Corridor

• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is constructing the Western DFC (1506 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1875 route km including Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section).
• The EDFC starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.
• The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra of WDFC.
• The following two (2) sections of DFC have been commissioned and dedicated to the nation by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India:-
• Bhaupur to Khurja (351 km) of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) on January 29, 2020.
• Rewari to Madar (306 km) of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) on January 7, 2021.

Source : The Hindu

8.CHANA PAWL

Zion-a Chana, patriarch of a Christian cult who held the world record for being the head of the “world’s largest family”, passed away at Aizawl in Mizoram. He was 76.

About:

• Ziona was the leader of Chana pâwl, a polygamy-practising Christian sect.
• Chana headed the Chana Pawl, a cult that his father, Khuangtuaha, had founded in June 1942. The cult believes in polygamy and has about 2,000 members, most of them living in the self-sustaining Baktawng Tlangnuam.
• Chana had 181 members living under one roof — his 39 wives, 94 children, 33 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Source : The Hindu

9.FAKIR MOHAN SENAPATI

Remembering Fakir Mohan Senapati on his 103rd death anniversary. He passed away on June 14, 1918.

About:

• Fakir Mohan Senapati (13 January 1843 – 14 June 1918) was an Indian writer, poet, philosopher and social reformer.
• He is often referred to as Utkala Byasa Kabi (Odisha's Vyasa). He is regarded as the father of Odia nationalism and modern Odia literature.
• He played a leading role in establishing the distinct identity of Odia language. He is known to have introduced novel writing, short story, and autobiography genres in Odia literature.

Important Info :

Key works by him

• Chha Maana Atha Guntha is the first Indian novel to deal with the exploitations of landless peasants by the feudal Lord. It was written much before the October revolution of Russia or much before the emerging of Marxist ideas in India.
• His "Rebati" (1898) is widely recognized as the first Odia short story.
• He wrote a long poem, Utkala Bhramanam, that first appeared in 1892.

Source : All India Radio

10.DAMINI

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah called for giving maximum publicity to various mobile apps related to weather forecasting like 'Umang', 'Rain Alarm' and 'Damini'.

About:

• The Damini app monitors the lightning occurrence all over India and alerts the user of lightning near them by a GPS notification under 20km and 40km.
• Damini app triggers warning about lightning strikes three hours in advance which can help reduce losses to life and property.
• Developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM-Pune) and Earth System Science Organization(ESSO) under ministry of earth sciences,
• Launched in 2020.

Source : Economic Times