Chennai TN, India
November 21, 2024, 6:50 pm
Jobs @NDI
Mail Us info@nationaldefenceinstitute.in
national-defence-institute
Call Us +91 91509 81462
Menu

22 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

uploads/authour/1669557586.png

Written by NDI EDITOR

Oct 22 2021

Follow @

22 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
1. EWS QUOTA
The Supreme Court asked the Government if it wants to revisit the limit of ₹8 lakh annual income fixed for determining the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category for reservation in NEET admissions for medical courses under the all-India quota.

About:

  • The Bench expressed its annoyance at the Government for not filing an affidavit explaining how it reached the ₹8 lakh figure to identify the EWS category for grant of reservation. Was any demographic study or data taken into account in fixing the limit,” the Bench asked.

  • The court said it might even “stay the Government notification fixing ₹8 lakh for determining the EWS”.

  • The Supreme Court’s query is significant as the One Hundred and Third Constitutional Amendment of 2019, which introduced the 10% EWS quota, is itself under challenge before a larger Bench.

  • The Amendment is under question for making economic criterion as the sole ground for grant of reservation benefits.

  • The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by NEET aspirants challenging a July 29 notification of the Centre announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to EWS in the All India Quota category.
Source: The Hindu

2. E-VOTING
Around 55.6% of the total 3,830 persons, who registered their names through the distributed ledger technology-based e-voting application, participated in the dummy election (mock e-voting) conducted by the Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC).

About:

  • It was conducted as part of the dry run of the country’s first smartphone-based e-voting solution, on a pilot basis in Khammam.

  • According to sources, as many as 2128 registered voters in Khammam Municipal Corporation (KMC) limits participated in the mock voting through the “TSEC eVote” Android app.

  • The TSEC’s digital initiative is a collaborative effort involving the Emerging Technologies Wing of the State IT Department and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to create an e-voting facility for certain sections of the electors including differently-abled voters to make elections more inclusive and accessible.

  • Sources said that 14,804 persons tried to register their names for the mock voting through the mobile app during the stipulated period. However, only 3,830 persons succeeded in enrolling their names through the DLT-based e-Voting application.

  • Many applicants reportedly faced technical glitches during the registration process due to reasons like failure to link their Aadhaar cards with mobile phone numbers, among other factors, sources added.

  • In a statement, Khammam Municipal Commissioner Adarsh Surabhi said the mock voting (dry run for e-voting) was conducted successfully.
Source: The Hindu

3. BLACK SEA
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin urged more defence cooperation among Black Sea allies ahead of a NATO Ministers summit.

About:

  • Action was needed by littoral states of the Black Sea amid Russia “militarisation” of the region.

  • The region is vulnerable to Russian aggression and we’ve seen evidence of that by ongoing actions in eastern Ukraine (and) the occupations of parts of Georgia.

  • Austin was in Bucharest on the third stop of a tour of the region to build confidence among allies, including Georgia and Ukraine, both of which are hoping to join NATO, and to promote greater cooperation among military forces.

Important Info :

Black Sea

  • The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
  • It is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper, and Don.
  • The Black Sea ultimately drains into the Mediterranean Sea, via the Turkish Straits and the Aegean Sea. The Bosporus Strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is connected to the Aegean Sea via the Strait of the Dardanelles.
  • To the north, the Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait.
  • The Black Sea covers 436,400 km2 (not including the Sea of Azov), making it the world's largest inland body of water.
Source: The Hindu

4. CBI DIRECTOR
The Supreme Court asked the Union Government to respond whether it can, in “exceptional circumstances”, continue with the outgoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director rather than appointing an “Acting” chief.

About:

  • It asked the Government that instead of an interim or an ‘Acting’ Director, CBI could continue with the incumbent until the high-powered selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition zeroed in on the next regular appointment.

  • The suggestion came while hearing a petition filed by NGO Common Cause, about how the law does not permit the Government to issue executive orders on its own, appointing interim CBI Directors.

  • The government had done it thrice since 2017. Such manoeuvres would hamper the functional autonomy of the elite probe agency that investigated several sensitive cases in the country.

  • The government has failed to appoint the Director of the CBI as per Section 4A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946 on the expiry of the term of the last incumbent, Rishi Kumar Shukla, on February 2, 2021

  • K. Jaiswal is the current CBI Director. The petition had said that an interim appointment through an executive order was not envisaged in the statutory scheme of the 1946 Act.
Source: The Hindu

5. FURLOUGH
The Supreme Court upheld the Gujarat Director General of Police’s (DGP) order to deny a two-week furlough to self-styled godman Asaram’ son, Narayan Sai, who is serving life imprisonment for rape.

About:

  • The Supreme Court has discussed the differences between 'furlough' and 'parole' and the principles relating to grant of them.

  • A bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice BV Nagarathna stated the broad principles as :
    • Furlough and parole envisage a short-term temporary release from custody;

    • While parole is granted for the prisoner to meet a specific exigency, furlough may be granted after a stipulated number of years have been served without any reason;

    • The grant of furlough is to break the monotony of imprisonment and to enable the convict to maintain continuity with family life and integration with society;

    • Although furlough can be claimed without a reason, the prisoner does not have an absolute legal right to claim furlough;

    • The grant of furlough must be balanced against the public interest and can be refused to certain categories of prisoners.

Important Info :

Furlough not a matter of right

  • Referring to the provisions of the Bombay Furlough and Parole Rules, the bench noted that the Rules do not confer a legal right on a prisoner to be released on furlough.
  • The grant of furlough is regulated by Rule 3 and Rule 4. The use of the expression "may be released" in Rule 3 indicates the absence of an absolute right.
Source: The Hindu

6. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ONLINE
The Global Threat Assessment report 2021, launched by WeProtect Global Alliance, said COVID-19 had contributed to a significant spike in child sexual exploitation and abuse online.

About:

  • WeProtect Global Alliance is a global movement of more than 200 governments, private sector companies and civil society organisations working together to transform the global response to child sexual exploitation and abuse online.

  • The findings show that in the past two years, the reporting of child sexual exploitation and online abuse has reached its highest level. COVID-19 created a ‘perfect storm’ of conditions that fuelled a rise in child sexual exploitation and abuse across the globe.

  • The rise in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material is another trend that challenges the existing response, with the Internet Watch Foundation observing a 77% increase in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material from 2019 to 2020.

  • Respondents who identified as transgender/non-binary, LGBQ+ and/or disabled were more likely to experience online sexual harms during childhood, it said.

  • The report calls for prioritising prevention activities against abuse, creating safe online environments for children, besides calling on all with a role to protect children to work together to improve the response.
Source : The Hindu

7. INNOVATIONS FOR YOU
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched a Digi-Book – “Innovations for You” an attempt to showcase the success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains.

About:

  • These startups have worked to create new, disruptive and innovative products, services, and solutions that can pave a path for a sustainable future. The first edition of this book is focused on innovations in Health Care and soon other sectors shall follow.

  • The book is a compilation of 45 health tech startups, incubated at Atal Incubation Centres spread across the country.

  • These startups are leveraging frontier technologies such as AI, IoT, ICT and others to provide socially relevant solutions to problems like Anemia, Malaria, dental care, mental health, neonatal and child care and monitoring human vitals, among others.

Important Info :

Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog

  • The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship culture in the country.
  • AIM is mandated to create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country and revolutionizing the innovation eco-system - touching upon the entire innovation life cycle through various programs.
Source : PIB

8. E-CIGARETTES
An analysis by the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, has found that e-cigarette use — even on a daily basis — did not help smokers successfully stay off cigarettes.

About:

  • E-cigarettes have often been suggested as a potential means to help smokers quit.

  • These are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid made of nicotine, flavourings and other chemicals to make an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs.

Prohibition Of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019

In 2020, Parliament of India has passed the bill. Its salient Features are:

  • Definition: The Bill defines e-cigarettes as electronic devices that heat a substance, which may contain nicotine and other chemicals, to create vapour for inhalation. These e-cigarettes include all forms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, heat-not-burn products, e-hookahs, and other similar devices.

  • Banning of e-cigarettes: The Bill prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes in India.
    • Violation of this provision will be punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both.

    • For any subsequent offence, the person will be punishable with an imprisonment of up to three years, along with a fine of up to five lakh rupees.

Source : Indian Express

9. GENE EDITING
Even as the Centre investigates allegations that unauthorised genetically modified (GM) rice was exported to Europe, it is yet to decide on a research proposal from its own scientists which would allow plants to be genetically modified without the need for conventional transgenic technology.

About:

  • Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute are in the process of developing resilient and high-yield rice varieties using such gene editing techniques, which have already been approved by many countries, and they hope to have such rice varieties in the hands of the Indian farmers by 2024.

  • However, the proposal for Indian regulators to consider this technique as equivalent to conventional breeding methods, since it does not involve inserting any foreign DNA, has been pending with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee for almost two years.

  • The IARI has previously worked on golden rice, a traditional GM variety which inserted genes from other organisms into the rice plant, but ended trials over five years ago due to agronomic issues.

  • The Institute has now moved to newer technologies such as Site Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2. They aim to bring precision and efficiency into the breeding process using gene editing tools such as CRISPR.
Source : The Hindu

10. VACCINATION IN INDIA
India scripted history with its COVID-19 vaccine doses administered crossing the one-billion mark — accomplished in just about nine months after the vaccination programme rollout on January 16.

About:

  • What is even more outstanding is the targeting of adults. Unlike the established universal immunisation programme, for infants and children, India has never undertaken any massive universal adult vaccination programme.

  • That this exercise involving thousands of healthcare workers and others was carried out even while in the midst of a huge number of daily cases in April-May during the second wave makes it even more remarkable.

  • It became possible only because vaccine manufacturers, the Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech, were able to ensure uninterrupted vaccine availability even if supply was limited in the beginning.

Important Info :

Way ahead

  • If over 75% of the eligible adults have already been vaccinated with one dose, the proportion of adults who are fully vaccinated is only 31%.
  • Since vaccination with two doses is necessary to increase the protection level, efforts should be directed at increasing the pace of second dose vaccination.
  • China has already administered over 2.2 billion doses and fully vaccinated over 75% of the eligible population even by mid-September.
Source : The Hindu
About Authour
uploads/authour/1669557586.png

Written by NDI EDITOR

National Defence Institute's Editor

Follow @

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

20 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
Oct 20 2021

20 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

INDIA, ISRAEL, UAE, AND USA QUAD FORUM NEBRA SKY DISC MART AND SUN TEM

Read More
21 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
Oct 21 2021

21 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

ABRAHAM ACCORDS INSACOG TO TRACK SARS-CoV-2 IN SEWAGE BHASKARABDA META

Read More

Address

Guindy, Chennai
Tamil Nadu, India

Phone Number

+91 91509 81462

Email Address

info@nationaldefenceinstitute.in