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

1. INDIA-SRI LANKA BUDDHIST TIES

To mark the inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh by PM Modi, Sri Lanka presented to India photographs of two murals painted by renowned Sri Lankan artist Solias Mendis at the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara, a popular Buddhist temple near Colombo.

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One of the murals depicts ‘Arahat Bhikkhu’ Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka delivering the message of the Buddha to King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka.
The other shows the arrival of ‘Theri Bhikkhuni’ Sanghamitta, the daughter of the Emperor, in Sri Lanka, bearing a sapling of the ‘sacred Bodhi tree’ under which Siddhārtha Gautama is believed to have obtained enlightenment.
The gesture comes at a time when Sri Lanka and India have agreed to strengthen ties through their shared Buddhist heritage.

Source : The Hindu

2. MELIOIDOSIS

A made-in-India aromatherapy spray is being pulled off retail giant Walmart’s shelves in the United States after a medical investigation linked it to melioidosis, a rare disease that has sickened at least four, and may have caused two deaths, in the country.

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The spray was reported to contain a bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, that causes a rare but deadly disease called melioidosis, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
The spray, “Better Homes and Gardens Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones”, was found on October 6 in the home of a Georgia resident who became ill with melioidosis in late July.

Important Info :

Key facts

Melioidosis, also called Whitmore’s disease, is an infectious disease that can infect humans or animals. The disease is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei.
It is predominately a disease of tropical climates, especially in Southeast Asia and northern Australia where it is widespread. The bacteria causing melioidosis are found in contaminated water and soil. It is spread to humans and animals through direct contact with the contaminated source.
Most people infected with B. pseudomallei experience no symptoms, but those who do experience symptoms have signs and symptoms that range from mild, such as fever, skin changes, pneumonia, and abscesses, to severe with inflammation of the brain, inflammation of the joints, and dangerously low blood pressure that causes death.

Source: The Hindu

3. INDIA’S FIRST BANNI BUFFALO IVF CALF BORN

With the birth of first IVF calf of a Buffalo breed namely Banni in the country, India’s OPU - IVF work has reached to next level.

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This is the first Banni Buffalo IVF calf in the country.
This first IVF Banni calf is born out of 6 Banni IVF pregnancies established at the doorsteps of a farmer, Vinay . L. Wala of Sushila Agro farms, located at Dhanej in Somnath district of Gujarat.
Prime Minister Modi had talked about the Banni buffalo breed during his visit to Kutch region of Gujarat on December 15, 2020. The very next day, i.e. December 16, 2020, Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) and aspiration processes for the in vitro fertilization (IVF) of Banni Buffaloes were planned.

Source : PIB

4. SAKSHAM CENTRES

As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a total of 152 Centre for Financial Literacy & Service Delivery (SAKSHAM Centres) across 77 districts of 13 states launched under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development during 4-8th October, 2021.

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Centre for Financial Literacy & Service Delivery (CFL&SD) would act as one stop solution/single window system for basic financial needs of Self-Help Group (SHG) households in rural areas.
The main objective of the center is to provide financial literacy & facilitate delivery of financial services (savings, credit, insurance, pensions etc.) to SHG members and rural poor.
These Centers will be managed by SHG network, largely at the level of the Cluster Level Federations (CLFs), with the help of trained Community Resource Persons (CRPs).
These trained CRPs are provided six days residential training at Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) established by the Lead Bank of the district.
All of these resources persons, popularly known as Financial Literacy Community Resource person (FL CRPs) also provided a training tool kit in vernacular languages.
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has also developed a mobile & web-based application called “SAKSHAM” which will be used by the community resource person of the Centre to know the penetration of various financial services for each SHG & village, identify major gaps and accordingly provide training and deliver the required financial services.
This application will also measure the impact of the programme on regular interval for mid-course correction in strategy, if any.

Source : PIB

5. PM MITRA PARKS

The Ministry of Textiles has issued the Notification on 21 October 2021 for setting up of 7 PM MITRA Parks as announced in Union Budget for 2021-22 and approved by the Central Government.

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PM MITRA Parks is envisaged to help India in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 (“Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”).
PM MITRA is inspired by the 5F vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister. The '5F' Formula encompasses - Farm to fibre; fibre to factory; factory to fashion; fashion to foreign.
The scheme is to develop integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility for entire value-chain of the textile industry. It will reduce logistics costs and improve competitiveness of Indian Textiles.
The 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks will be setup at Greenfield / Brownfield sites located in different willing States. Proposals of State Governments having ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcel of 1,000+ acres along with other textiles related facilities & ecosystem are welcome.
For a Greenfield PM MITRA park, the GOI Development Capital Support will be 30% of the Project Cost, with a cap of ₹500 Cr.
For Brownfield sites, after assessment, Development Capital Support @30% of project cost of balance infrastructure and other support facilities to be developed and restricted to a limit of Rs. 200 Crore.
State Government supports will include provision of 1,000 Acre land for development of a world class industrial estate.
Competitiveness Incentive Support (CIS) of ₹300 Crore will also be provided to each PM MITRA park for early establishment of textiles manufacturing units in PM MITRA Park.
PM MITRA park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by State Government and Government of India in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode.
The Master Developer will not only develop the Industrial Park but also maintain it during the concession period. Selection of this Master Developer will happen based on objective criteria developed jointly by State and Central Governments.

Source: PIB

6. PLI SCHEME FOR SPECIALTY STEEL

Union Cabinet approved Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for Specialty Steel which was notified on 29th July 2021. Guidelines for an effective implementation of PLI Scheme have been notified on 20th Oct 2021.

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Specialty steel is value added steel wherein normal finished steel is worked upon by way of coating, plating, heat treatment, etc to convert it into high value added steel which can be used in various strategic applications like Defence, Space, Power, apart from automobile sector, specialized capital goods etc.
The five categories of specialty steel which have been chosen in the PLI Scheme are:
- Coated/Plated Steel Products
- High Strength/Wear resistant Steel
- Specialty Rails
- Alloy Steel Products and Steel wires
- Electrical Steel

Important Info :

Benefits:

The benefit of this scheme will accrue to both big players i.e. integrated steel plants and to the smaller players (secondary steel players)
It is expected that the speciality steel production will become 42 million tonnes by the end of 2026-27. This will ensure that approximately 2.5 lakh crores worth of speciality steel will be produced and consumed in the country which would otherwise have been imported.
Similarly, the export of specialty steel will become around 5.5 million tonnes as against the current 1.7 million tonnes of specialty steel getting FOREX of Rs 33,000 crore.

Source: PIB

7. ABHYAS

ABHYAS - the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha.

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The vehicle can be used as an aerial target for evaluation of various missile systems.
The performance of the target aircraft was monitored through telemetry and various tracking sensors including Radars and Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS).
The current flight test is carried out as a part of developmental flight trials. Expression of interest for production of the vehicle has already been floated to Indian industries.
This indigenous target aircraft, once developed, will meet the requirements of High-speed Expendable Aerial Targets (HEAT) for Indian Armed Forces.
ABHYAS is designed & developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru. The air vehicle is launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle.
It is powered by a gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at subsonic speed.

Source: PIB

8. INDIAN TELEGRAPH RIGHT OF WAY (AMENDMENT) RULES, 2021

The Central Government has notified the Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2021 on 21st October 2021 to incorporate the provisions related to nominal one-time compensation and uniform procedure for establishment of Overground Telegraph Line in the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016.

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The amount of one-time compensation for establishment of overground telegraph line will be maximum one thousand rupees per kilometre.
Documentation for Right of Way (RoW) application for overground telegraph line has been made simple.
Also, there will be no fee other than Administrative fee and Restoration charges for establishing, maintaining, working, repairing, transferring or shifting the underground and overground telegraph infrastructure.
These amendments will ease Right of Way related permission procedures for establishment and augmentation of Digital Communications Infrastructure across the country.

Source: PIB

9. SWAYAMPURNA MITRA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with beneficiaries and stakeholders of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Swayampurna Goa programme on 23rd October, 2021.

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The initiative of Swayampurna Goa, launched on 1st October 2020 was inspired by the clarion call given by the Prime Minister for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
Under this programme, a state government officer is appointed as ‘Swayampurna Mitra’.
The Mitra visits a designated panchayat or municipality, interacts with people, coordinates with multiple government departments and ensures that various government schemes and benefits are available to the eligible beneficiaries.

Source : PIB

10. ‘GM-CONTAMINATED’ RICE

The Centre has identified a Maharashtra-based exporter as the source of the broken rice flagged in Europe as contaminated with genetic modifications (GM) earlier this year, the Commerce Ministry. It added that the 500-tonne consignment was given a non-GMO certification by an independent agency.

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While reiterating that GM rice is not grown commercially in India, the Ministry asked genetic and rice experts, including the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee [GEAC] and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), to investigate.
The European Commission’s contamination alert prompted the recall of tonnes of confectionery items and baked goods throughout Europe this summer and provoked concerns that India’s ₹65,000 crores worth of annual rice exports could be hurt by the allegations.
The Indian Ministry of commerce alleged that the case was a “futile conspiracy to malign the image of India as a reliable food security provider”. Worried farmers’ groups and environmental activists, however, noted that multiple GM rice varieties had been approved for confined field trials.

Source: The Hindu

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

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