Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 19 August 2021, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Daily Current Affairs 19 August 2021
Vriksharopan Abhiyan 2021
Ministry of Coal has set an ambitious target under the “Go Greening” drive to cover 2385 hectares of area under bio-reclamation/plantation.
The “Go Greening” drive is to be provided the right impetus through launch of the “Vriksharopan Abhiyan 2021” on 19th August 2021 by the Union Minister of Coal & Mines.
It is expected that more than 300 plantation sites in and around coalfields across the country will be connected during the Abhiyan on 19th through live Video Conferencing.
Vriksharopan Abhiyan 2021 will surely bring environment sustainability in mining operations and help coal sector obtain social and environmental licence to operate, which will be very crucial in coming days when more mines will be opened up involving new players.
National Intellectual Property Awards 2020
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal conferred the National Intellectual Property Awards 2020 to the winners at an event.
Addressing the event, Shri Goyal said the key achievements of his Ministry includes
- Granting of 28,391 patents in 2020-21 as compared to 4,227 grants during 2013-14 (572% growth.
- Reduction in Time of patent examination from 72 months in Dec 2016 to 12-24 months in Dec 2020
- 2 lakh trademark registrations in 4 years (2016-2020) in comparison to 11 lakh during 75 years (1940-2015).
- India’s ranking improved in Global Innovation Index to 48th in 2020, (+33 ranks from 81st in 2015-16).
Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme guidelines
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has notified Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme guidelines and rates in the range of 0.3-4.3 per cent.
The scheme for zero rating of exports will boost our exports & competitiveness in the global markets. The rates of RoDTEP will cover 8555 tariff lines.
Scheme’s objective is to refund, currently un-refunded:
- Duties/ taxes/ levies, at the Central, State & local level, borne on the exported product, including prior stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods & services used in production of the exported product, and
- Such indirect Duties/ taxes/ levies in respect of distribution of exported products.
It may be noted that rebate under the Scheme shall not be available in respect of duties and taxes already exempted or remitted or credited.
Scheme is to be implemented by Customs through a simplified IT System. Rebate will be issued in the form of a transferable duty credit/ electronic scrip (e-scrip) which will be maintained in an electronic ledger by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).
MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-21
Government has announced the winners list for MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-21 in partnership with UN Women.
The awards were open to participation from tech start-up women entrepreneurs and an overwhelming response was received across the country with receipt of 159 applications.
an eminent Jury comprising of leaders from MeitY, UN Women, Industry and Academia selected 12 women entrepreneurs as winners, while 2 women entrepreneurs were declared as the Jury Choice Awardees and one woman entrepreneur was felicitated as a special mention. Each winner and Jury Choice Awardees were rewarded Rs. 2 Lakh.
Giving a fillip to women entrepreneurs, 33 women have also been selected for MeitY-NASSCOM Tech Women Entrepreneur Accelerator Program to give them access to networks, connects, learning and resources that are needed to build scalable, profitable and global businesses.
Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Challenge 2021
MyGov under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India and UN Women have come together to jointly launch the Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Innovation Challenge 2021 to encourage technology solutions developed by Women Entrepreneurs that facilitate Women’s Safety and Empowerment.
The aim is Nari Sashaktikaran, that is to empower women to help them achieve their full potential.
Hosted on the MyGov platform, the Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Challenge 2021 will accept entries till September 17, 2021.
10 Nominees will be shortlisted and supported through a mentorship programme and each nominee will be awarded a grant of INR 1,00,000 to develop the Proof of Concept of their ideas.
Following a rigorous screening process, five winners will be selected by a Jury in November 2021.
The winners will be awarded INR 5,00,000 each to develop, market and implement their solutions.
The Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Challenge 2021 is being implemented under the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (COVID-19) Programme.
The first Shri Shakti Challenge held in 2020 had received an overwhelming response, with a total of 1,265 entries and 10 Finalists comprising of women entrepreneurs, scientists, and change-makers from across the country, who had submitted innovative solutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global Geospatial Information Community sensitized about UNWGIC
The Global Geospatial Information Community was sensitized about the second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) to be organized by India in October 2022.
The United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) organizes the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) every four years with the objectives of enhancing international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management and capacities.
The first UNWGIC was organized by China in October 2018.
The UNGGIM has entrusted the responsibility of organizing the second UNWGIC to India during October 2022. India will organize the event as a part of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (Celebration of 75 years of Indian Independence)”.
Atal Innovation Mission launched Student Entrepreneurship Programme 3.0
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog in collaboration with La Fondation Dassault Systemes in India launched the third series of the ‘Student Entrepreneurship Programme’ (SEP 3.0) for the young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
The theme of SEP 3.0 is based on the ‘Made in 3D – Seed the Future Entrepreneurs Program’, conceptualized and rolled out in France by La Main à la Pate Foundation and La Fondation Dassault Systèmes Europe in 2017.
As part of this program, a team from each school (6 students and a teacher) will be allocated seed funding towards creating their own start-up, design and prototype their innovation using 3D printing, prepare marketing campaign, define product pricing and create expansion strategy.
First-ever water cuts declared for Colorado River in historic drought
The federal government declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.
The Colorado River Basin is divided into the Upper (Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and northern Arizona) and Lower Basins (parts of Nevada, Arizona, California, southwestern Utah and western New Mexico).
The entire Colorado river system is managed with a series of dams and canals to regulate flood control, water conservation and hydropower benefits.
In the Lower Basin, the Hoover Dam controls floods and regulates water delivery and storage. Apart from the Hoover dam, there is the Davis Dam, Parker Dam and the Imperial Dam that regulate the release of water from the Hoover Dam.
Water is released from these dams and used by residents in California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.
Centre decided to not reduce taxes on petrol and diesel
The Centre has argued that it cannot reduce taxes on petrol and diesel as it has to bear the burden of payments in lieu of oil bonds issued by the previous UPA government to subsidise fuel prices.
Before fuel prices were deregulated, petrol and diesel as well as cooking gas and kerosene were sold at subsidised rates during UPA rule.
Instead of paying direct subsidy to oil marketing companies from the Budget, the then government issued oil bonds totalling Rs 1.34 lakh crore to the state-fuel retailers in a bid to contain the fiscal deficit.
Citing the need to repay interest and principal components on these bonds, the Centre has now argued that it needs higher excise duty to help its finances.
The NDA government too has used a similar strategy to inject capital into state-owned banks and other institutions by issuing recapitalisation bonds worth Rs 3.1 lakh crore, which will come up for redemption between 2028 and 2035.
RBI unveiled financial inclusion index
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the formation of a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country.
The announcement regarding the creation of the Financial Inclusion Index was made in the first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2021-2022 on 17 April.
The annual FI-Index for the period ending March 2021 is 53.9 against 43.4 for the period ending March 2017. The FI-Index will be published annually in July every year.
The FI-Index has been conceptualised as a comprehensive index, incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector, in consultation with government and respective sectoral regulators.
It also captures information on the financial inclusion aspects in a single value ranging between 0-100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion.
The FI-Index comprises three broad parameters — Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%), with each of these consisting of dimensions computed based on many indicators.
The Index is also responsive to the ease of access, availability and the usage of services, and the quality of services, comprising all 97 indicators.
A unique feature of the Index is the quality parameter, which captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion as reflected by the financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services.
The FI-Index has been constructed without any ‘base year’, and as such it reflects cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over the years towards financial inclusion.
World Photography Day 2021
World Photography Day is observed on 19 August each year to celebrated the art, craft, science and history of photography. Photography is a very important medium of storytelling.
Photography is a powerful and purposeful medium that triggers a very intimate conversation between the photographer and the viewer.
The World Photography Organisation is aiming to raise the level of conversation around photography worldwide, through exhibitions, awards, and competitions.
Established in 2007, it organises photography competitions under four verticals – for professionals, for students, the youth, and in the open category.
International Bow Day 2021
International Bow Day is observed on August 19 each year to cherish the glory of bows and how have they have evolved over the years.
Claire’s started the celebrations of International Bow Day in 2017 to share the versatile and lasting global trends of the bow.
Ever since, August 19 is observed as the International Bow Day. Claire’s has a full range of bow accessories. They carry bow-themed products in almost every category.
Bows appear in a series of permutations, from gracing the neck of the wisest men to enhancing the looks of gowns or being simply used as a hair accessory.
Bows can be made of any material, from ribbons, or latex, to plastic, or even grass. Not to forget, presents are also tied up with bows.
World Humanitarian Day 2021
World Humanitarian Day is celebrated on August 19 each year to honour humanitarians across the world.
The day is observed to pay tribute to people who sacrificed their lives despite the odds and continue to provide protection and life-saving support to people in need.
This day was observed in the memory of the 2003 bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, that claimed 22 lives, including the chief humanitarian in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
World Humanitarian Day is a result of the works of a foundation laid by de Mello along with his family working with co-humanitarians such as France, Switzerland, Japan, and Brazil in Geneva and New York.
The UN established World Humanitarian Day to acknowledge the sacrifice of de Mello and many humanitarians like him. The UN General Assembly formalized August 19 as World Humanitarian Day in 2009.
National mission to step up domestic production of edible oils
The Union Cabinet took several steps to boost the production of edible oils and reduce the dependence on imports.
It has given its approval to launch a new Mission on Oil palm to be known as the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
It will be a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a special focus on the North east region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The proposed scheme will subsume the current National Food Security Mission-Oil Palm programme.
To give impetus to the North-East and Andaman, the Government will bear additional cost of 2 per cent of the Crude Palm Oil price to ensure that the farmers are paid at par with the rest of the country.
