29 JUNE CURRENT AFFAIRS 

1.P.V. NARASIMHA RAO

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to former Prime Minister, Shri PV Narasimha Rao Ji on his 100th birth anniversary.

About:

• Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (1921 –2004) was a politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He also became the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1971.
• Father of Economic reforms: He sought to dismantle the License Raj system, reduce red tape and make Indian industries more competitive. He laid the foundation for trade liberalization and re-integration of Indian economy with the global economy, especially East Asian economies.
• Foreign policy: Among his bold moves in foreign policy were establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and reversing decades of frosty relations between India and the United States by bringing them together. He also launched the Look East policy.
• Father of Indian nuclear Program: He energised the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests by Vajpayee-led NDA government (the tests were planned in 1996 but they were not carried out as government at centre got changed due to 1996 general election).
• National Security: He was also fairly successful in controlling the separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir.
• Local governance: The path-breaking 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments empowering local bodies during Narasimha Rao’s tenure as the Prime Minister are worthy of mentioning.

Source : Times of India

2.LETEKU

A shipment of fresh Burmese grapes referred as ‘Leteku’ in Assamese language has been exported to Dubai from Guwahati by air route.

About:

• Baccaurea motleyana is a species of fruit tree which grows wild in parts of Southeast Asia.
• Its common names include rambai and rambi, and in Thai language mafai-farang. In the Bengali language the fruit is known as bugi and Narsingdi.
• In the Assamese language it is known as leteku.
• Each fruit has velvety pinkish, yellow, or brown skin which wrinkles at ripening and is filled with whitish pulp containing 3 to 5 seeds. The pulp is sweet to acid in taste.
• Leteku contains vitamin C and Iron.

Source : PIB

3.BANKIM CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid homage to Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on his Jayanti.

About:

• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee or Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838 – 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist.
• He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali. He wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali.
• He also received the title of Rai Bahadur in 1891.
• One of his brothers, Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay was also a novelist and is known for his book "Palamau". 

Important Info :

• Literary career
• Chattopadhyay's earliest publications were in Ishwar Chandra Gupta's weekly newspaper Sangbad Prabhakar.
• Durgeshnandini (Daughter of the Feudal Lord) is a Bengali historical romance novel written by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1865. Durgeshnandini is the first Bengali novel written by him as well as the first major Bengali novel in the history of Bengali literature.
• Anandamath is a Bengali fiction, written by him and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century. Vande Mataram as the Motherland was published in this novel.
• Vande Mataram (also pronounced Bande Mataram) is a Bengali poem, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , originally in Sanskrit, in 1870s, which he included in his 1882 novel Anandamath.

Source : PIB

4.ROCK PHOSPHATE

In order to improve the availability of phosphatic fertilisers (DAP and NPK) and to reduce the dependence on imports, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers chaired a meeting. Government ready with Action Plan to make India Aatmanirbhar in Rock Phosphate, the key raw material of DAP and NPK Fertlisers.

About:

• Rock phosphates or phosphorites are sedimentary phosphatic deposits comprising fine-grained mixture of various calcium phosphates, most important being hydroxylapatite, carbonateapatite, fluorapatite and their solid solutions.
• About 80% phosphate production in the world is derived from phosphate rocks (phosphorite)
• Rock Phosphate is the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilisers and India is 90% dependent on imports.
• Of the total reserves/resources, 34% are in Jharkhand, 31% in Rajasthan, 19% in Madhya Pradesh, 8% in Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand each , respectively. Meagre quantities of resources are also located in Gujarat and Meghalaya. 

Source : The Hindu

5.LIST OF 100 BEST MEDICAL COLLEGES OF WORLD

Six medical colleges from India have found a place in the list of the World's 100 best medical colleges for the year 2021, in a ranking released by CEO World Magazine.

About:

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has bagged 23rd position, while AFMC Pune has bagged 34th rank, followed by CMC Vellore (49), JIPMER Pondicherry (59), Medical College Chennai (64), and IMS BHU Varanasi (72).

Toppers

• The US-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ranked first with the highest s of 99.06, followed by Harvard Medical School, Perelman School of Medicine, and NYU Grossman School of Medicine. 

Source : All India Radiocore

6.AGNI PRIME

A new-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P (Prime) was successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam island, Balasore, off the coast of Odisha.

About:

• The ‘Agni Prime’ is the advanced version of the ‘Agni-1’ missile.
• The ‘Agni Prime’ is a short-range ballistic missile that will have a range of 1000 km to 1500 km and will have advanced features in agility and road mobility. It is a surface to a surface missile that can carry a payload of around 1,000 Kg or a nuclear warhead.
• The double stage missile will be lighter and much sleeker than its predecessor ‘Agni-1’.
• It is a canisterised missile. Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile while improving its storage and mobility.
• The Agni class of missiles are the mainstay of India’s nuclear launch capability which also includes the Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft. 

Important Info :

• Submarine missiles
• In the past few years, India has also operationalised its submarine-based nuclear launch capability, completing the nuclear triad.
• The DRDO, in January 2020, successfully test-fired a 3,500-km range submarine-launched ballistic missile, K-4, from a submerged pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast.
• Once inducted, these missiles will be the mainstay of the Arihant class of indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN) and will give India the stand-off capability to launch nuclear weapons submerged in Indian waters.
• INS Arihant, the only SSBN in service, is armed with K-15 missiles with a range of 750 km. 

Source : The Hindu

7.BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE

In a virtual program from Kyungam in Leh district, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 63 bridges built by Border Roads Organization (BRO) in eight states in the country.

About:

• He inaugurated a 50-metre-long bridge constructed on the Leh-Loma Road in Ladakh. The Leh-Loma Road, which connects Leh with places such as Chumathang, Hanley and Tso Morori Lake, is vital for access to forward areas in Eastern Ladakh.
• In addition, Shri Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated 62 more bridges – 11 in Ladakh, four in Jammu & Kashmir, three in Himachal Pradesh, six in Uttarakhand, eight in Sikkim, one each in Nagaland and Manipur and 29 in Arunachal Pradesh.
• With the inauguration of 63 bridges in one go, BRO has surpassed its own record of 44 bridges launched in 2020.
• These 63 bridges, combined with 12 roads dedicated to the nation by Shri Rajnath Singh on June 17, 2021, form a bouquet of 75 infrastructure projects completed by BRO, when the nation is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its Independence. 

Source : All India Radio

8.DELTA PLUS IS VARIANT OF CONCERN

Addressing at the 29th Group of Ministers meeting, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that Delta plus is a variant of concern and special surveillance is being done in the 12 States wherein these variants have been detected.

What are Variants of Interest (VoI) and Variants of Concern (VoC)?

• When the mutations happen – if there is any previous association with any other similar variant which is felt to have an impact on public health – then it becomes a Variant under Investigation.
• Once genetic markers are identified which can have association with receptor binding domain or which have an implication on antibodies or neutralizing assays, we start calling them as Variants of Interest.
• The moment we get evidence for increased transmission through field-site and clinical correlations, it becomes a Variant of Concern.
• Variants of concern are those that have one or more of the following characteristics:
• Increased transmissibility
• Change in virulence/ disease presentation
• Evading the diagnostics, drugs and vaccines
• The 1st Variant of Concern was announced by the UK where it was found. Currently there are four variants of concern identified by the scientists - Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. 

Source : All India Radio

9.ENERGY COMPACT GOALS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY

NTPC Limited, India’s largest power generating company under Ministry of Power has become first energy company in energy domain in India to declare its Energy Compact goals as part of UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).

About:

• NTPC has set a target to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032. India’s largest power producer is also aiming at 10% reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.
• NTPC is among the few organisations globally to declare its Energy Compact goals.
• Further, NTPC has declared that it will form at least 2 international alliances/groups to facilitate clean energy research and promote sustainability in energy value chain by 2025.

Source : Business Standard

10.FINANCIAL RELIEF PACKAGE FOR 2ND WAVE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Union Finance Minister announced a slew of measures to provide relief to diverse sectors affected by the 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

About:

• She announced a relief package of Rs 6,28,993 crore to support Indian economy in fight against COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 17 measures amounting to Rs. 6,28,993 crore were announced.
• These included two measures announced earlier, i.e. the additional Subsidy for DAP & P&K fertilizers, and extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from May to November, 2021.
• She announced Rs. 1.1 lakh crore Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID affected sectors. Of them Rs. 50 thousand crore will be for health sector. The scheme is aimed at upscaling medical infrastructure targetting unreserved areas.
• She also announced Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, ECLGS which was launched as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Package in May, 2020.
• She announced Creadit Guarantee Scheme which is a new scheme to facilitate loans to 25 lakh people through Micro Finance Institutions, MFI.
• The guarantee will be provided to Scheduled Commercial Banks for loans to new or existing NBFC- MFIs for on lending upto Rs. 1.25 lakh to about 25 lakh to small borrowers. 

Source : The Hindu