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

1. SCHEME FOR “PROMOTION OF MEDICAL DEVICE PARKS”

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified the Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks”.

About:

The Medical Devices Parks to be developed under the scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place thereby creating a robust ecosystem for the medical device manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly.
The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs. 400 crore and the tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025.
The financial assistance to a selected Medical Device Park would be 70% of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities.
In case of North Eastern States and Hilly States, financial assistance would be 90% of the project cost. Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crores.

Source : PIB

2. CRYPTOCURRENCIES

China’s central bank said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies are illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China after a crackdown on the volatile currencies.

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The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations, which have sought to prevent speculation and money laundering.
“Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities,” the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said, adding that offenders would be “investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the law”.
The notice bans all related financial activities involving cryptocurrencies, such as trading crypto, selling tokens, transactions involving virtual currency derivatives and “illegal fundraising”.
While crypto creation and trading have been illegal in China since 2019, further crackdowns this year by Beijing warned banks to halt related transactions and closed much of the country’s vast network of bitcoin miners.
The crypto crackdown also opens the gates for China to introduce its own digital currency, already in the pipeline, allowing the central government to monitor transactions.

Source : The Hindu

3. TUSSAR SILK YARN PRODUCTION CENTRE

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has taken a historic initiative to set up Odisha’s first ever Tussar Silk Yarn Production Centre at Choudwar in Cuttack district.

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This silk yarn production centre will ensure local availability of Tussar Silk yarn, create local employment and reduce the silk production cost.
Tussar silk is one of the finest varieties of Silk that is distinguished by its coarseness and porous weave that give it a rugged and rustic appearance.
The development assumes great significance as Silk comprises nearly 75% of the total Khadi fabric production in Odisha.
For hundreds of years, Odisha has been known for its exquisite Silk, particularly the Tussar variety, which provides livelihood to thousands of tribal people, particularly women.

Source : PIB

4. INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONS

Maldives state-owned Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation Thursday signed loan agreements with India’s state-owned National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC) and JMC Projects (India) Ltd, to develop 4,000 social housing units in Hulhulmalé (phase 2) island.

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India’s state owned Exim Bank extended buyer’s credit of approximately $228 million for the construction of these housing units.
The contracts for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) were signed between Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation and India’s state-owned National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC) to develop 2,000 social housing units, while India-based JMC Projects has been contracted to develop 2,000 additional units.

Why is it important?

Close to 40% of the entire population of the Maldives lives in Malé, the capital city, that has an area of approximately 8.30 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
Social housing is an important requirement in the Maldives because in addition to housing shortage, high rent prices are a major challenge for ordinary people in the country.

Important Info :

What is the context in terms of bilateral relations?

This is a part of India’s developmental assistance project in the Maldives.
The signing of this agreement comes weeks after the Maldives government officially inked a deal with Mumbai-based company AFCONS, for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), a $500-million infrastructure project which is the largest-ever by India in the Maldives.

Source : Indian Express

5. ROAD CAVE-INS

As Delhi records an unprecedented rainfall this season, it is also witnessing an increase in incidents of road cave-ins across the city.

What causes a portion of the road to cave in?

The cave-ins or cavities that look like a hole in the ground are actually a product of the incessant rain.
The continuous rain leads to overflowing of drains, which can cause leaks in the pipeline. When a pipeline leaks and water from the pipeline flows into the layers of earth around it, the earth starts to erode and with time, it gets washed away with the water in the pipeline.
Eventually, the portion of the road over it collapses because of the erosion. How long this takes, would depend on the size of the pipelines and the leak.

Fixing the road after a cave-in

Once such an incident takes place, the first step is to find the leakage.
The water flow needs to be shut first and this might take some time. As soon as the flow is shut and the location of the leak is established, work on the pipeline starts.
After the work is complete, officials then fill the cavity with the required material. In smaller cavities, they fill the cavity with gravel while larger ones are filled with sand since it can be compacted easily.

Important Info :

How can such cave-ins be avoided?

In order to avoid such cavities, the integrity of the pipelines would have to be checked.
One of the ways that such cave-ins can be avoided, includes creating a system wherein the leakage can be plugged earlier on.
Installing a system that checks the flow at the start point and one at the endpoint, would be able to help authorities know that there is a leak. If the leakage is plugged early, the cave-in can be avoided.

Source : Indian Express

6. CHANG’E-5 LUNAR MISSION

On December 16, 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission delivered to Earth nearly 2 kg of rocky fragments and dust from the Moon. Now, scientists presented the early-stage findings that use geological mapping to link ‘exotic’ fragments in the collected samples to features near the landing site.

The Findings:

90% of the materials collected by Chang’e-5 likely derive from the landing site and its immediate surroundings, which are of a type termed ‘mare basalts’.
These volcanic rocks are visible to us as the darker grey areas that spilled over much of the nearside of the Moon as ancient eruptions of lava. Yet 10% percent of the fragments have distinctly different, ‘exotic’ chemical compositions.
The distinct 10% fragments may preserve records of other parts of the lunar surface as well as hints of the types of space rocks that have impacted the Moon’s surface.

Source : Indian Express

7. DRONE AIRSPACE MAPS

The Central Government has released India’s airspace map for drone operations on 24 September 2021. The map is available on DGCA’s digital sky platform.

Top features of the Drone Airspace Maps

The drone airspace map is an interactive mapof India that demarcates the yellow and red zones across the country.
Green zone is the airspace upto 400 feet that has not been designated as a red or yellow zone; and upto 200 feet above the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport.
In green zones, no permission whatsoever is required for operating drones with an all-up weight upto500 kg.
Yellow zone is the airspace above 400 feet in a designated green zone; above 200 feet in the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport and above ground in the area located between 5-8 km from the perimeter of an operational airport.
Drone operations in yellow zone require permission from the concerned air traffic control authority – AAI, IAF, Navy, HAL etc. as the case may be.
Yellow zone has been reduced from 45 km earlier to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
Red zone is the ‘no-drone zone’ within which drones can be operated only after a permission from the Central Government.
The airspace map may be modified by authorised entities from time to time.
Anyone planning to operate a drone should mandatorily check the latest airspace map for any changes in zone boundaries.
The drone airspace map is freely available on the digital sky platform to all without any login requirements.

Source : PIB

8. C-295MW TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT

Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space, Spain for acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, on September 24, 2021.

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The MoD has also signed an Offset Contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space through which M/s Airbus will discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian Offset Partners.
These contracts were signed following the approval accorded by the Cabinet Committee on Security earlier this month.
The induction of C-295MW will be a significant step towards modernisation of the transport fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
It is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft of IAF.
The aircraft is capable of operating from semi-prepared strips and has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops & cargo.
The aircraft will give a major boost to tactical airlift capability of IAF, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Out of 56, forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium. All the deliveries will be completed within ten years of signing of the contract. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite.

Source : PIB

9. SPENDING CURBS ON MINISTRIES

With the government revenues picking up as the economic recovery gains strength, the Finance Ministry removed the expenditure curbs that were imposed on various ministries for the July-September quarter.

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As a cash management exercise, the government had earlier asked various ministries and departments (in category B) to “restrict the overall expenditure within 20 per cent of BE 2020-21 in Quarter 2 (July to September 2021)”. This restriction has been withdrawn.

What’s the change now?

The government did not impose any spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, railways, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) — the ministries and department in Category A specified by the finance ministry.
Expenditure curbs were imposed on demands/appropriations related to ministries and departments such as civil aviation, home, labour, mines, power, telecom and post, consumer affairs, fisheries, revenue, economic affairs, financial services and heavy industries, among others, in Category B.
The government has now removed the restriction on limiting the expenditure to 20 per cent of Budget Estimates 2020-21 in the July-September quarter.

Source : Indian Express

10. CHINA’S EVERGRANDE CRISIS

The world’s stock and bond markets are closely watching China Evergrande Group , a Chinese property developer that is on the brink of missing payments on some of its debt.

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If not resolved, it threatens to become the largest debt default by a company in Asia, which could jolt investor confidence across markets globally.
Beijing seems reluctant to bail out the company but is taking steps to limit the damage.
Evergrande is an enormous—and heavily indebted—private-sector Chinese property developer and home builder that is close to defaulting on some of its billions of dollars in debt.
The most urgent immediate deadline is Sept. 23, when the company has an $83.5 million interest payment due on some of its dollar-denominated bonds.

Source: The Hindu

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

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