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

1. MISSILE SILOS IN CHINA

Satellite images have revealed that China is building at least three missile silo fields in Yumen in Gansu province, near Hami in Xinjiang province, and at Hanggin Banner, Ordos City, in Inner Mongolia.

About:

It appears that China is constructing around 120 missile silos at Yumen, around 110 silos in Hami, and 29 in the Hanggin Banner field. Earlier this year, 16 missile silos were detected in the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Jilantai training area, also in Inner Mongolia.
For several decades before these discoveries in 2021, China operated only 20 missile silos for its DF-5 liquid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
On completion of the ongoing work, China could have 250-270 new missile silos, more than 10 times the number it had maintained for several decades.

Important Info :

Why is China building missile silos?

There could be three explanations.

FIRST, some Chinese political scientists believe this could be China’s attempt to move towards a launch-on-warning (LOW) nuclear posture. LOW refers to a launch at an adversary on detection of an incoming missile before the adversary’s missile hits its target.
SECOND, it enables China to achieve its goal of increasing its nuclear warhead stockpile.
The THIRD guess is that China could use these silos as decoys.

Source : Indian Express

2. SAMARTH SCHEME

In order to meet the skill gap in the industry, Ministry of Textiles is implementing Samarth Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector.

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First batch in each 63 training centers have been completed successfully benefitting 1,565 artisans. The second batch will also complete during the month of August 2021 benefiting 1,421 artisans.
Additionally, 65 new handicrafts training centers are being established to scale up the training program so that the maximum number of artisans can be benefitted.

Important Info :

The salient features of the scheme are:

Samarth Scheme is being implemented in association with State Government agencies, sectoral organisations of Ministry of Textiles, Manufacturing Industry, Industry Associations and MSME Associations.
Formulated as per broad skilling framework adopted by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Comprise entry level skilling (Fresh workers) and Upskilling (existing worker).
Mandatory placement of trainees- 70% for entry level & 90% for upskilling under organized sector.
Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) and Web based centralized Management Information System (MIS) for monitoring.

Source : PIB

3. SUJALAM CAMPAIGN

The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking waste water management at village level particularly through creation of 1 million Soak-pits and also other Grey water management activities.

The key activities that will be organised in the villages under this campaign include:

Organizing Community consultations, Khuli Baithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the current situation
Pass resolution to maintain ODF sustainability and achieve needed number of soak pits to manage the grey water
Develop a 100 days’ plan to undertake sustainability and soak pit construction related activities
Construct requisite number of soak pits
Retrofit toilets where needed through IEC and community mobilization and
Ensure all newly emerging Households in the village have access to toilets.

Source : The Hindu

4. EASE 4.0

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda ‘EASE 4.0’ for 2021-22 - tech-enabled, simplified, and collaborative banking.

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She also unveiled the annual report for the PSB Reforms Agenda EASE 3.0 for 2020-21.
Public Sector Banks have reported healthy profits and have accelerated on technology-driven reforms. These banks have reported a profit of Rs. 31,817 crore in FY21 as compared to a loss of Rs. 26,016 crore in FY20. This is the first year when PSBs have reported profit after five years of losses.
Total gross non-performing assets stood at Rs. 6.16 lakh crore as of March 2021 - a reduction of Rs. 62,000 crore from March 2020 levels.
Credit@click was a flagship initiative under EASE 3.0. Nearly 4.4 lakh customers have been benefitted through such instantaneous and simplified credit access.
Nearly 72% of financial transactions happening at PSBs is now happening through digital channels.
The next edition of EASE reforms i.e. EASE 4.0 aims to further the agenda of customer-centric digital transformation and deeply embed digital and data into PSBs' ways of working.

Source : PIB

5. WORLD WATER WEEK

World Water Week 2021 is being held entirely online, 23-27 August, with the theme Building Resilience Faster.

About:

World Water Week is the leading annual event on global water issues, organized by Stockholm International Water Institute since 1991.
It is a week-long global water conference held each year in late August or early September.
During the week, the Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the Stockholm Industry Water Award are given out at their respective award ceremonies.
The Week attracts participants from more than 130 countries and consists of a broad array of parallel activities convened by leading international organizations on a broad array of water-related topics, ranging from food security and health to agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and the climate crisis.

Important Info :

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a Stockholm-based policy institute that generates knowledge and guides decision-making towards water wise decisions. it was founded in 1991.

Source : PIB

6. SAMRIDH SCHEME

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched Startup Accelerators of MeitY for pRoduct Innovation, Development and growth (SAMRIDH) programme.

About:

SAMRIDH will create a conducive platform for Indian software product startups to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business.
The programme is being implemented by MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH).
Government will support startups and entrepreneurs in the most challenging phase which is the initial risk phase, Vaishnaw had said earlier.
The SAMRIDH programme will focus on accelerating 300 start-ups by providing customer connect, investor connect, and international expansion opportunities in the next three years.
Also, an investment of up to Rs 40 lakh to startups, based on their current valuation and growth stage will be provided through selected accelerators. It will also facilitate equal matching investment by the accelerator or investor.
The programme aims to further the Indian startup growth which has seen the emergence of 63 unicorns (Startups with over $1 billion valuation), making India the third largest unicorn hub globally with a total valuation of $168 billion.

Source : Business Standard

7. KAZIND-21

As part of military diplomacy and to strengthen the growing strategic relation with Kazakhstan, the 5th edition of Indo- Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, “KAZIND-21” will be conducted at Training Node, Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan, from 30 August to 11 September 2021.

About:

The exercise is a joint training between both the Armies, which will boost the bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan.
The Indian Army contingent represented by a battalion of The Bihar Regiment consists of a total of 90 personnel led by a Contingent Commander. The Kazakhstan Army will be represented by a company group.

Source : PIB

8. MANTHAN 2021

On 26th August 2021, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will be launching MANTHAN 2021.

About:

Hackathon MANTHAN 2021 is a unique national initiative to identify innovative concepts and technology solutions for addressing the security challenges of the 21st century faced by our intelligence agencies.
During this 36 hours online hackathon, scheduled from 28th November to 1st December 2021, selected youths from education institutions across the country and registered start-ups will participate to offer strong, safe and effective technology solutions using their technical expertise and innovative skills.
Total Prize money worth Rs. 40 Lakh will be given to the winning teams.
Participants are expected to develop digital solutions under 6 themes for 20 different challenge statements.

Source : PIB

9. FAIR AND REMUNERATIVE PRICE (FRP)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2021-22 (October - September) at Rs. 290/- per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%.

About:

The cost of production of sugarcane for the sugar season 2021-22 is Rs. 155 per quintal. This FRP of Rs. 290 per quintal at a recovery rate of 10% is higher by 87.1% over production cost, thereby giving the farmers a return of much more than 50% over their cost.
The FRP approved shall be applicable for purchase of sugarcane from the farmers in the sugar season 2021-22 (starting w.e.f. 1st October, 2021) by sugar mills.
The FRP has been determined on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments and other stake-holders.

Source : The Hindu

10. GAIL OMVEDT

Researcher, author and one of the intellectual voices of the Bahujan movement Gail Omvedt passed away. She was 81.

About:

Omvedt was an American-born Indian scholar who authored books on Dalit politics, women’s struggle and anti-caste movement. She also participated in various people’s movements, including the one for the rights of people displaced by the Koyna Dam.
Omvedt co-founded Shramik Mukti Dal with her husband and activist Bharat Patankar.
Gail Omvedt not only contributed as a researcher in social movements, saints’ literature, traditions but also actively participated in movements for rights of women, deprived sections.
Omvedt authored over 25 books, including In Colonial Society – Non-Brahmin Movement in Western India, Seeking Begampura, Buddhism in India, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule, Dalit and the Democratic Revolution, Understanding Caste, We Will Smash the Prison and New Social Movement in India.
She was the head of Phule-Ambedkar chair in the Department of Sociology of the University of Pune; Professor at the Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhegan; and the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi.

Source : The Hindu

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

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