Daily Current Affairs: 26-08-2020

MISSION BASED DEPLOYMENTS (MBD)

What is in news?

The Navy has effectively carried out Mission Based Deployments (MBD) to protect maritime interests by deploying ships and aircraft at major and sensitive locations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a three-day Naval Commanders Conference (NCC).

About:

• The geo-strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has seen a gradual increase in the recent past. Indian Navy regularly deploys ships for Presence and Surveillance Missions (PSM), off critical choke points / sea lanes in the IOR.

• Since August 2017, Indian Navy deployments in the IOR have been further structured under the Mission Based Deployment (MBD) concept.

• Under MBD concept, In addition to the anti-piracy deployment, IN ships were also Mission Deployed for Operation ‘GULFDEP’ in the Persian Gulf, Operation ‘CENTDEP’ in the central Indian Ocean Region, Operation ‘NORDEP’ in the northern Bay of Bengal and Operation ‘MALDEP’ in the Andaman Sea and approaches to the Malacca Strait.

NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION (NSFE): 2020-2025

What is in news?

The National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE): 2020-2025 document was released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

About:

• This NSFE for the period 2020-2025 is the second one after the 2013-18 NSFE.

• It has been prepared by the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) in consultation with all the Financial Sector Regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA), DFS and other Ministries of Govt. of India and other stakeholders under the aegis of the Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy under the Chairmanship of Deputy Governor, RBI.

• The document has been approved by the FSDC-SC in its 24th meeting, held on June 2020.

• It has recommended a ‘5 C’ approach for dissemination of financial education in the country. These include emphasis on development of relevant content in curriculum in schools, colleges and training establishments, developing capacity among intermediaries involved in providing financial services, leveraging the positive effect of community-led model for financial literacy through appropriate communication strategy, and, enhancing collaboration among various stakeholders.

WOMEN IN R&D

What is in news?

 ‘Private firms employ more women in R&D’, according to data in the Science and Technology Indicators (STI), 2018, a periodic compendium of the state of scientific research in India, released this month.

About :

• India’s private sector research companies appear to employ a larger proportion of women in core research and development activities than government-funded major scientific agencies do.

• Of the 20,351 women employed in private R&D companies, 15,011 — or about three in four — were involved in “R&D activities” and the rest in “auxiliary or administrative activities”.

• However, of the 23,008 women in “major scientific agencies”, fewer than half — or 10,138 — were in the same ‘R&D activities’ category.

• The 2018 indicators reiterate the historic trend of India’s scientists being overwhelmingly men. For every one of the 15,011 women counted earlier, there are six male scientists in private sector R&D establishments, or about 92,000.

Facts to remember:

• The STI is prepared by a division of the Department of Science Technology, the National Science and Technology Management Information System, and is based on data provided by a range of scientific establishments across the country.

KARIYE MUSEUM

What is in news?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered another ancient Orthodox church that became a mosque and then a popular Istanbul museum to be turned back into a place of Muslim worship.

About:

• The decision to transform the Kariye Museum into a mosque came just a month after a similarly controversial conversion for the UNESCO World Heritage-recognised Hagia Sophia.

• The Holy Saviour in Chora was a medieval Byzantine church decorated with 14th-century frescoes of the Last Judgment that remain treasured in the Christian world.

• It was originally converted into the Kariye Mosque half a century after the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks.

• It became the Kariye Museum after Second World War as Turkey pushed ahead with the creation of a more secular new republic out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

• The 1,000-year-old building’s history closely mirrors that of the Hagia Sophia — its bigger neighbour on the historic western bank of the Golden Horn estuary on the European side of Istanbul. But they have added to Turkey’s tensions with Greece and its Orthodox Church. 

THUMBIMAHOTSAVAM 2020

What is in news?

The WWF-India Kerala unit has joined hands with the Society for Odonate Studies (SOS) and Thumbipuranam for the first-ever State Dragonfly Festival in Kerala, named Thumbimahotsavam 2020. ‘Pantalu’ is the official mascot forthe festival.

About:

• A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata.

• Adult dragonflies are characterized by large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body.

Dragonflies vs Damselflies:

• Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold the wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen.

• Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight.

UAE CONNECTS FIRST ARAB NUCLEAR PLANT TO POWER GRID

What is in news?

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates announced that it has connected its Barakah nuclear power plant to the national grid in a new first for the Arab world.

About:

• The milestone follows the successful start-up of the plant’s first reactor at the end of last month and launches the UAE on the road to meeting 25% of its electricity needs from nuclear power.

• Barakah was built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of some $24.4 billion. The plant is on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi

• The UAE has substantial oil and gas reserves, but with a power-hungry population of 10 million, it has made huge investments in developing clean alternatives, including solar energy.

• Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the project has yet to materialise.

SRI CHAMARAJENDRA ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS

What is in news?

Mysuru zoo has become the second Indian zoo to house the African cheetah, the fastest land animal, as it managed to get one male and two females from a cheetah conservation centre in South Africa under an animal-exchange programme.

About:

• Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, popularly known as 'Mysuru Zoo', is one of the oldest zoos of the country established in 1892, by the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru Sri Chamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur.

• Mysuru zoo is the second zoo in the country to house hunting cheetahs after Hyderabad zoo which has a pair of African Cheetah. 

WORLD TEMPERATURE RECORD SET IN CALIFORNIA'S DEATH VALLEY

What is in news?

The hottest air temperature recorded anywhere on the planet in at least a century, and possibly ever, was reached in Death Valley in California's Mojave Desert where it soared to 130 Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius).

About:

• The record comes as climate scientists warn of the dangers of a warming planet. Last month was the world's third-hottest July on record, and three of the hottest ever Julys all occurred within the past five years.

• A temperature of 134F (56.7C) was recorded in Death Valley in July 1913, and Kebili, Tunisia, is said to have hit 131F in July 1931, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

• But recent research by Christopher Burt, an extreme weather expert, has led some meteorologists to view these older records as the results of observer error.

Mojave Desert?

• The Mojave Desert is an arid rain-shadow desert and the driest desert in North America.

• It is in the Southwestern United States, primarily within southeastern California and southern Nevada.

• Its boundaries are generally noted by the presence of Joshua trees, which are native only to the Mojave Desert. 

LABOUR BUREAU

What is in news?

The official logo of Labour Bureau, an attached office of Ministry of Labour and Employment, was launched by Minister for Labour.

About:

• Labour Bureau, an attached office under Ministry of Labour and Employment, was set up on 1st October 1946.

• It is entrusted with the work of compilation, collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics on different aspects of labour.

• Labour Bureau has two main wings stationed in Shimla and Chandigarh.

The functions/activities of Labour Bureau can be classified under the following major heads:

• Compilation and maintenance of Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers,           Agricultural/Rural Labourers, Retail Price Index of Selected Essential Commodities in Urban Areas etc.

• Quick Employment Survey and Employment-Unemployment survey are also being conducted by Labour Bureau.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRANSGENDER PERSONS

What is in news?

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons.

About:

• The Social Justice Minister would be the Council’s chairperson and its members would include officials from some other Ministries.

• Five nominated members from the community — Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Gopi Shankar Madurai, Meera Parida, Zainab Javid Patel and Kak Chingtabam Shyamcand Sharma — are also part of the Council.

• The council is formed under Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

The council has five main functions:

• advising the central government on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects with respect to transgender persons;

• monitoring and evaluating the impact of policies and programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation of transgender persons;

• reviewing and coordinating the activities of all the departments;

• redressing grievances of transgender persons; and

• performing such other functions as prescribed by the Centre.

Jai Hind!