25 AUGUST 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. SAROOP

Among the most striking images emerging from the flight of Sikhs from Afghanistan have been those of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri carrying on his head, one of the saroops of the holy Guru Granth Sahib flown in from that country.

About:

Saroop is a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi. Every Bir has 1,430 pages, which are referred to as Ang. The verses on every page remain the same.
The Sikhs consider the saroop of Guru Granth Sahib a living guru and treat it with utmost respect. They believe that all the 10 Gurus were the same spirit in different bodies, and the Guru Granth Sahib is their eternal physical and spiritual form.
It was the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the first Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, and installed it at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Later, the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, added verses penned by the ninth master, his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, and compiled the Bir for the second and last time.
It was in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib the living Guru of the Sikhs.
Guru Granth Sahib is a compendium of hymns written by six Sikh gurus,15 saints, including Bhagat Kabir, Bhagat Ravidas, Sheikh Farid and Bhagat Namdev, 11 Bhatts (balladeers) and four Sikhs. The verses are composed in 31 ragas.

Source : Indian Express

2. PROCEDURE OF ARRESTING CABINET MINISTER IN INDIA

Three FIRs have been registered against Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane in connection with a speech at Raigad where he spoke against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

What is the procedure to arrest a cabinet minister in India?

If Parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law enforcement agency in case of a criminal case registered against him.
As per Section 22 A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the Police, Judge or Magistrate would, however, have to intimate the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha about the reason for the arrest, the place of detention or imprisonment in an appropriate form.
The Chairman is expected to inform the Council if it is sitting about the arrest. If the council is not sitting, he/she is expected to publish it in the bulletin for the information of the members.

What about the privileges of the Rajya Sabha members vis-a-vis arrests?

As per the main privileges of Parliament, in civil cases, they have freedom from arrest during the continuance of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion, as per section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The privilege of freedom from arrest does not extend to criminal offences or cases of detention under preventive detention.

Important Info :

Can a person be arrested from the precincts of the House?

No arrest, whether of a member or of a stranger, can be made within the precincts of the House without the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker and that too in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Home Ministry in this regard.
Similarly no legal process, civil or criminal, can be served within the precincts of the House without obtaining the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker whether the House is in Session or not.

Source : Indian Express

3. AFGHAN REFUGEE CRISIS

Fearing a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, Greece has completed building a 40-km long wall and installed a hi-tech surveillance system on its border with Turkey to avoid the influx of Afghan migrants following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

About:

The development comes amid apprehensions about heavy migration of Afghan citizens into Greece via Turkey, and then further into Europe.
Greece built the wall stating that the country cannot let Afghan nationals penetrate their borders and enter the country.

Important Info :

What was the 2015 migrant crisis faced by Greece?

The European Union faced a huge inflow of migrants from neighbouring countries, especially the middle-east, during the 2015 Syrian war.
More than 1.3 million people fled to Europe, seeking asylum in the EU, Norway and Switzerland, Pew Research stated.
Most of these people arrived in Greece and Italy, according to UNHCR.

Source : Indian Express

4. AK-203 ASSAULT RIFLES

India has finally signed a deal with Russia for the procurement of 70,000 AK-203 assault rifles to be bought off the shelf.

About:

The development happens in spite of the joint venture of both the countries to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles in India. Reportedly, the deliveries would begin within three months and be completed in six months.
AK-203 assault rifle is considered to be the latest and most advanced version of the AK-47 rifle. It is a 7.62×39mm variant from the AK-100 rifle family (one that offers the AK-74M system, in multiple cartridges and lengths).
This variant is expected to replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56×45 mm assault rifle, that are presently being used by Army, Navy and the Air Force besides other security forces.
This variant is an advanced version of AK-47 and its magazine can hold 30 bullets.
Unlike the INSAS rifles, these rifles never get jammed as these belong to AK series. These rifles are a type of Kalashnikov rifles, which can work under extreme climatic conditions and are effective even in sand, soil and water.

Source : All India Radio

5. GLOBAL MANUFACTURING RISK INDEX

India has emerged as a global manufacturing hub and effectively surpassed the United States to become the world’s second most desired manufacturing destination. India’s ranking was reflected in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index.

About:

Based on the most favorable locations for international manufacturing, Cushman & Wakefield’s Manufacturing Risk Index report ranks countries based on a range of factors including:

Risk and cost factors
Political and economic risk
Market conditions and labor costs
Market Access
The index ranks 47 countries across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific.

Source : All India Radio

6. FORUM FOR DECARBONIZING TRANSPORT

NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute(WRI), India, jointly launched the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India as part of the NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project on August 23, 2021.

About:

NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute India Jointly Launch ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India
The project aims at bringing down the peak level of GHG emissions (transport sector) in Asia (in line with a well below 2-degree pathway), resulting in problems like congestion and air pollution.

NDC-TIA

The NDC-TIA India component focuses on developing a coherent strategy of effective policies and the formation of a multi-stakeholder platform for decarbonizing transport in the country.
The NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA 2020-2023) is a joint programme of seven organisations that will engage China, India, and Vietnam in promoting a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing transport in their respective countries.
The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) support the initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
NITI Aayog is the implementing partner for the India component of the project.

Background

India has a massive and diverse transport sector, which is also the third most CO2 emitting sector.
Data from (IEA, 2020; Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, 2018) suggests that within the transport sector, road transport contributes to more than 90% of the total CO2 emissions.

Source : PIB

7. NORTH EASTERN REGION DISTRICT SDG INDEX & DASHBOARD

NITI Aayog and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (M/DoNER) will be launching the first edition of the North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report and Dashboard 2021–22 on 26 August 2021.

About:

The NER District SDG Index and Dashboard is a collaborative effort by NITI Aayog and Ministry of DoNER, with technical support from UNDP.
The NER District SDG Index and Dashboard: Baseline Report 2021-22 has been constructed by NITI Aayog, the nodal agency for SDGs in India, utilising 84 indicators which cover 15 of the Global Goals across 50 targets.
It measures the performance of the districts of the eight States of the North Eastern Region on the SDGs and their corresponding targets and ranks the districts based on the same.
The index is based on NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index –the principal and official tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs at the national and State/ Union Territory levels.

Source : PIB

8. GM SOYA CAKE

Government of India has relaxed the rules for import of crushed and de-oiled GM soya cake (Non-living organism only).

About:

Application of provision as in Condition 6(b) of General Notes Regarding Import Policy Schedule — I (Imports) of the ITC (HS) 2017 has now been relaxed to allow imports of 12 Lakh Metric ton of crushed and de-oiled GM soya cake (only Non living organism) under ITC HS codes 23040020 and 23040030 from Nhava Sheva port and LCS Petrapole, till 31st October, 2021.
The said relaxation comes after clarification and prior permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that "Since soya de-oiled and crushed (DOC) cake does not contain any living modified organism, this Ministry has no concerns and no objection for import of soya cakes from an environmental angle".
This decision will positively impact farmers, poultry farmers, and fishermen

Source : PIB

9. CLIMATE ACTION AND FINANCE MOBILIZATION DIALOGUE (CAFMD)

Union Minister of Environment of India held a conversation with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC), Mr. John Kerry, to discuss Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD) Track under India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.

About:

Both sides agreed that India and the USA, will engage for a constructive engagement under the “India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership” .
John Kerry, SPEC mentioned about the launch of Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD), as a part of the India-U.S. Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership (Agenda 2030 Partnership) to enhance actions in the current decade to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Source : LiveMint

10. MULTI-MODE HAND GRENADES (MMHG)

The first batch of Multi-Mode Hand Grenades (MMHG), manufactured by Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), following Transfer of Technology from Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), was handed over to the Indian Army in Nagpur, Maharashtra on August 24, 2021.

Benefits:

The grenade is not just more lethal, but is safer to use. It has a distinctive design that gives flexibility of employment in both defensive (fragmentation) and offensive (stun) modes.
It has a highly accurate delay time, very high reliability in usage and safe for carriage.
These new grenades will replace Grenade No 36 of World War I vintage design, which had been continuing in service till date.

Background:

The EEL had signed a contract with Ministry of Defence on October 01, 2020 to supply 10 lakh modern hand grenades for Indian Army and Indian Air Force.
The deliveries would be spread over two years from the bulk production clearance, which was accorded to EEL in March 2021. The first order has been delivered within five months.

Source : PIB

25 AUGUST 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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