18 DECEMBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. RASHTRIYA EKTA GEET

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Rashtriya Ekta Geet composed by the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in 22 languages during the grand finale of Vijay Shrankhla aur Sanskrityon ka Mahasangam campaign.

About:

Rashtriya Ekta Geet is based on the theme of national integration.
Highlighting the glorious history of NCC, Rajnath Singh said, leaders like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and many others are NCC alumni who have contributed towards Nation building.
The National Cadet Corps (NCC) is the youth wing of the Indian Armed Forces with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.

Source: All India Radio

2. ORDER OF THE DRUK GYALPO

The King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, conferred its highest civilian award, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, on Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of the country’s National Day.

About:

This would be the latest of awards to be conferred on Modi by other countries.
Last year, he received the ‘Legion of Merit by the US Government’ award of the US Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.
In 2019, Russia conferred its highest civilian honour ‘Order of St. Andrew’ award on Modi. In the same year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) conferred him with its highest civilian honour—‘Order of Zayed Award’.
The Maldives gave him the ‘Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin’the highest honour for foreign dignitaries—in 2019. PM Modi also received 'King Hamad Order of the Renaissance', the top honour from Bahrain, in the same year.
In 2018, the Prime Minister was conferred with the 'Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award', Palestine’s highest honour awarded to foreign dignitaries.
He has also received the 'Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud', the highest honour of Saudi Arabia awarded to non-muslim dignitaries and Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour ‘State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan' in 2016.

Source: PIB

3. RUSSIA DRAFTS PACT TO LIMIT NATO ROLE IN EX-SOVIET NATIONS

Russia unveiled proposals to contain the U.S. and NATO in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, calling for urgent negotiations with Washington as it amasses forces near Ukraine.

About:

Russia released unfinished security documents — an unusual move in diplomacy — that call for U.S.-led NATO alliance not to bring in new members or establish bases in ex-Soviet countries.
The West says Moscow has readied some 1,00,000 troops for an imminent attack on Ukraine, which has been battling a pro-Moscow insurgency in its east since 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denies planning an attack and blames NATO for the rise in tensions, demanding “legal guarantees” the alliance will not expand eastwards.
The draft document addressed to NATO says its members should “commit themselves to refrain from further enlargement, including the accession of Ukraine as well as other states”.
It also insists that alliance members not conduct military activity in Ukraine or other countries in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Moscow and NATO, the document said, should limit the deployment of missiles, set up an emergency telephone hotline and also work to “prevent incidents” in the Baltics and the Black Sea.

Source: The Hindu

4. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT, 2002

Environmentalists have expressed concern over amendments to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 on the grounds that it prioritises intellectual property and commercial trade at the expense of the Act’s key aim of conserving biological resources.

About:

Amendments to the Act were introduced as a Bill in the Lok Sabha by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. The amended Bill was drafted in response to complaints by traditional Indian medicine practitioners, seed sector, and industry and researchers.
The bill was enacted for conservation of biological diversity and ensure fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources with indigenous and local communities, imposed a heavy “compliance burden” and made it hard to conduct collaborative research and investments and simplify patent application processes.
The text of the Bill also says that it proposes to “widen the scope of levying access and benefit sharing with local communities and for further conservation of biological resources.”
The Bill seeks to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge, among others, from giving prior intimation to State biodiversity boards for accessing biological resources for certain purposes.

Important Info :

Arguments against

A statement from the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) said the Bill would “undo all the efforts made in the last few years to implement the Biological Diversity Act.”
There was not a “single provision in the proposed amendment to protect, conserve or increase the stake of local communities in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.”
LIFE said the amendments were done to “solely benefit” the AYUSH Ministry. The Bill in the current form would pave the way for “biopiracy” and would mean AYUSH manufacturing companies would no longer need to take approvals and thus defeat the purpose for which the Act was created in the first place.

Source: The Hindu

5. COVOVAX

The World Health Organisation said it had granted emergency approval to the India-manufactured coronavirus vaccine Covovax.

About:

The jab, produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from the U.S.-based Novavax, will now be distributed as part of global vaccine-sharing system Covax, “giving a much-needed boost to ongoing efforts to vaccinate more people in lower income countries”.
This listing aims to increase access, particularly in lower-income countries, 41 of which have still not been able to vaccinate 10% of their populations, while 98 countries have not reached 40%.”
Covovax requires two doses and is stable at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius refrigerated temperatures.

Source: The Hindu

6. JCP ON THE PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL

The Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) on the Personal Data Protection Bill tabled its report in both Houses.

Major recommendations:

Non-Personal Too: The key recommendations that changes the nature of the Bill itself is for inclusion of non-personal data within the larger umbrella. This means that all issues under the new legislation will be dealt with by a single Data Protection Authority (DPA) instead of separate ones for personal and non-personal.
Transition Period: To ensure that all such data aggregators get ample time to comply with the rules under the new Bill, the JCP suggested that up to 24 months be given from the date of notification of the Act.
Social Media Liability: A third major recommendation is that social media platforms that do not act as intermediaries should be treated as publishers, and therefore be held liable for the content they host.
Penalty: The committee has recommended a fine of up to Rs 15 crore or 4% of the total global turnover of the firm for data breaches, and a jail term of up to 3 years if de-identified data is re-identified.
Timely Alert: In case of any data breach, the data aggregator or fiduciary must notify the DPA within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.

Source: Indian Express

7. TAMIL THAI VAAZHTHU

The Tamil Nadu government has declared Tamil Thai Vaazhthu, a prayer song sung in praise of Mother Tamil, as the State Song.

About:

A Government Order (GO) had been issued directing that everyone who is present during the rendition of the song, barring differently-abled persons, should remain standing.
The 55-second song, which is familiar to almost everyone in Tamil Nadu, is sung, like the national anthem, at the beginning of functions in all educational institutions, government offices, public sector undertakings, and similar public events in the state.
A government order has come less than two weeks after the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court said that “There is no statutory or executive order requiring the attendees to stand up when Tamil Thai Vaazhthu is sung.”

Source: Indian Express

8. BULLOCK CART RACES IN MAHARASHTRA

The Supreme Court allowed Maharashtra to hold bullock cart races in the state till the pendency of the matter before the Constitutional Bench of the apex court.

About:

The races will be held in several parts of the state, especially Pune and the western Maharashtra region, where the 400-year-old tradition was prevalent.
Bullock cart races were banned in Maharashtra after the Supreme Court declared that the race as violative of the provisions of the central act in 2014.
After the Tamil Nadu government enacted a law to regulate jallikattu (taming of the bull), there was a demand to revive bullock races in Maharashtra.
In April 2017, the Maharashtra assembly had passed a legislation for resumption of bullock cart races across the state. The Bill titled ‘The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill’ was passed unanimously with the support of all parties.
It was promulgated by the then President Pranab Mukherjee in July days before leaving office. The Bill regularised the bullock race.

Source: Indian Express

9. COLD WAVE

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a cold wave in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh over the next few days.

What is a cold wave?

The IMD records a cold wave when the minimum temperature is equal to or less than 10 degree Celsius at a weather station in the plains, and is 4.5 degrees to 6.4 degrees below the normal temperature for that period.
A cold wave may also be recorded at a station in the plains when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 4 degree Celsius.
For hilly regions, a cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 0 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees to 6.4 degrees below the normal.
The ‘normal’ temperature is calculated for every five days by taking the average temperature for these days over the past 30 years.

Important Info :

What is the cause of this cold wave?

A western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation lies over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir. Western disturbances are storms that originate in the Mediterranean region and bring winter rainfall to northwest India.
After this western disturbance moves, there is a brief gap. The next western disturbance will set in only on December 22 night.
In this gap of five to six days, the IMD expects strong northwesterly and westerly cold winds over north India. “We did not have this wind pattern earlier. Winds were calm and light all through November. We need consistent winds to bring a fall in temperature.

Source: Indian Express

18 DECEMBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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