DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: May 26, 2022

Ministry of Education releases National Achievement Survey 2021 report

Tags: National News

The Department of School Education and Literacy has released the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report on May 25.

• The report would enable analysis of results and remedial action at the appropriate level.

• Approximately 34 lakh students from 1.18 lakh schools in 720 districts of rural and urban areas have participated in NAS 2021.

• It assesses the health of the school education system in the country by conducting a comprehensive assessment survey of the learning ability of children in classes III, V, VIII and X with a cycle duration of three years.

• It reflects the overall assessment of the school education system.

• The last edition of the National Achievement Survey was conducted in 2017.

• NAS 2021 was conducted on all India level on 12th November, 2021 and included all government schools, government aided schools and private unaided schools.

• This nationwide survey was administered by CBSE.

• The survey was managed through a technology platform designed and developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC).

• Objective of NAS 2021

• To assess the progress and learning ability of children as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so that appropriate remedial action can be taken at various levels.

Captain Abhilasha Barak becomes first woman combat pilot in Army

Tags: Defence Person in news

On May 25, Captain Abhilasha Barak from Haryana became the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as a Combat Aviator.

• She was awarded the prestigious wing along with 36 other Army pilots by the Director General of Army Aviation and the Colonel Commandant during a ceremony in Nashik.

• About Captain Abhilasha Barak

• She is an alumnus of The Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh. 

• She completed her B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Delhi Technological University in 2016.

• She joined his first job in Deloitte, USA.

• In 2018, she was inducted into the Indian Army from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai.

• While serving with the Corps of Army Air Defence, he was selected by President Ram Nath Kovind as a contingent commander for the presentation of colors for Army Air Defence.

• After completing his training from Officers Training Academy, Chennai in 2018, she joined the Army Aviation Corps.

• About Army Aviation Corps

• Established on 1 November 1986, the Army Aviation Corps was first deployed in Jaffna in 1987 in India's fight against the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in what is known as 'Operation Pawan'.

• This corps flies Chetak and Cheetah helicopters developed by HAL.

• Presently, this Corps and its helicopters are serving in high altitude areas like Siachen Glacier.

• It is one of the youngest corps of the Indian Army and operates a fleet of helicopters like Chetak, Cheetah, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Dhruv and Rudra.

• Apart from attack, these helicopters also play a major role in observation, reconnaissance operations, evacuation of casualties, drop of goods or relief material as well as relief and rescue operations.

Graded action to be initiated against over 2,100 unrecognised political parties: ECI

Tags: National

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to initiate graded action against over 2,100 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) for non-compliance with statutory requirements under the Representation of the People (RP) Act.

• All the parties have been accused of financial irregularities and non-submission of annual audit reports on time and not giving details of election expenses.

• There are also a large number of such parties, who have not participated in the 2019 elections, yet they have got tax exemption of crores.

• During verification, 87 parties were found to be non-existent.

• They will be removed from the list and their benefits will be withdrawn under the Symbol Order (1968).

• According to ECI over 92% of the then listed 2,354 RUPPs did not file their contribution reports in 2019.

• In the year 2018-19, 199 parties claimed income tax exemption of ₹ 445 crore while in 2019-20, 219 parties claimed exemption of ₹ 608 crore.

• Of these, 66 parties had sought exemption without submitting the mandatory contribution report.

• In addition, 2,056 parties were yet to file annual audit accounts for 2019.

• In 2019, only 623 parties contested the Lok Sabha elections.

• Mandatory legal provisions

• The registered parties are required to comply with Section 29 C of the Representation of the People (RP) Act and submit a contribution report.

• Such contributions were given 100% exemption from income tax as an incentive to parties to strengthen electoral democracy. 

• Section 29A (9) of the Act mandates every political party to inform the Commission about any change in its name, head office, office bearers, address, PAN without any delay.

• Parties will have to make a provision that they have to contest elections conducted by the Election Commission within five years of registration.

• On participating in the election, they have to submit their election expenditure statement within 75 days in case of Assembly elections and within 90 days in case of Lok Sabha elections.

• Any aggrieved party can approach the concerned Chief Electoral Officer with full facts within 30 days of the order of the Election Commission.

President inaugurate National Conference of women legislators in Thiruvananthapuram

Tags: Summits State News

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the two days national conference of women legislators in Thiruvananthapuram on 26 May. 

• Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan presided over the inaugural session at the Kerala Legislative Assembly complex.

• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Council of Ministers were also present in the event.

• This is the first national conference of its kind in the country.

• About the Conference

• It is being organised by the state assembly as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of independence.

• The theme of the conference -  ‘Power of democracy’

• The conference seeks to bring together women legislators including women ministers, speaker and deputy speaker from both the houses of parliament, state legislatures and legislative councils and union territories.

• The sessions cover topics like ‘Constitution and women’s rights,’ ‘Role of women in India’s freedom struggle,’ ‘Women’s rights and legal gaps’ and ‘Under-representation of women in decision-making bodies.’

• About Kerala

• Kerala is located - on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India.

• Formed   -  1 November 1956

• Language  -  Malayalam

• Area  - over 38,863 km2

• bordered by  - Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west

• Districts  - 14 

• Capital  -  Thiruvananthapuram

• Chief Minister - Pinarayi Vijayan

• Governor  -  Arif Mohammad Khan

• Highest literacy rate in India  - Kerala

Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022

Tags: Defence National News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India's biggest drone festival-Bharat Drone Mahotsaw 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on May 27.

• The Prime Minister will interact with farmer drone pilots and also witness an open-air drone demonstration.

• The 'Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022' is a two-day event being organised on May 27 and 28.

• Drones will be showcased by over 70 exhibitors at the exhibition.

• Drone pilot certificate, product launch, flight demonstration, demonstration of Made in India drone taxi prototype etc. will be organised in the festival.

• Several industry leaders, government officials, foreign diplomats, representatives of public sector entities, private companies and drone startups will participate in the festival.

• What is a drone?

• Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft.

• A drone is a flying robot that can be controlled remotely or can fly independently using software-controlled flight technology in its embedded systems.

• It works in conjunction with onboard sensors and a global positioning system (GPS).

• Drones first came to the market in the 1990 and were developed by the military.

• Drones can be used for surveillance, situational analysis, crime control, VVIP security, disaster management, etc.

• It offers benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including national defence, agriculture, law enforcement, and mapping, among others.

• The Central Government has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme of Drones and Drone Components.

BHASHINI to remove language barriers in using internet

Tags: Science and Technology

A brainstorming session with researchers and start-ups was organised by the Ministry of Electronics and IT with an aim to shape the strategy for Digital India BHASHINI (Language Interface for India).

• About Digital India BHASHINI

• It is India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) led language translation platform.

• It will make available Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources to startups and innovators in the public sector.

• It is a part of the National Language Translation Mission.

• Its objective is to substantially increase the content in Indian languages on the Internet in the areas of governance and policy, science and technology etc.

• Significance of the initiative 

• It will empower Indian citizens by connecting them to the country's digital initiatives in their own language.

• It will lead to digital inclusion.

• It will encourage participation of startups.

• It will create an ecosystem involving Central/State government agencies and start-ups, working together to develop innovative products and services in Indian languages.

• It will play an important role in realising the goal of digital government.

• It will Increase the Content in Indian Languages.

Notification pertaining to base premium for third party insurance for unlimited liability

Tags: National Popular

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry in consultation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, has published Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance Base Premium and Liability) Rules, 2022 on 25 May.

• The rules will come into force on 1st of June 2022.

• The base premium for third-party insurance has been notified for unlimited liability for different classes of vehicles.

• As per the new rules, a discount of 15 per cent has been provided for educational institution buses, while a discount of 50 per cent in premium has been given for a private car registered as a vintage car.

• A discount of about 15 percent has been given on electric vehicles and 7.5 percent on premium for hybrid electric vehicles.

MoU signed between Ministry of Ayush and Department of Biotechnology

Tags: National Science and Technology

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to explore the possibility of collaboration, convergence and synergy to bring together expertise towards evidence based biotechnology interventions in the AYUSH sector.

• The MoU is expected to enable traditional health care and biotechnology to come together to conduct innovative and path-breaking research.

• Innovation and research can be used for the exploration of various fundamental principles of Ayush systems.

• The discovery and application of the ancient scientific method in the public health care sector requires multi-dimensional and technological methods.

• This is expected to pave the way for coordinated research in the AYUSH sector and harness the vast untapped potential of the AYUSH health care system for community benefit.

• The MoU will facilitate inter-ministerial cooperation for evidence based biotechnology interventions in the AYUSH sector.

Uttarakhand, BPCL Sign Agreement for Renewable Energy Development

Tags: State News

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Uttarakhand and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for the development of renewable energy.

• On behalf of the Uttarakhand Government, Energy Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram and BPCL's Chief General Manager, Renewable Energy Shaily Abraham and Executive Director Amit Garg signed.

• This MoU has been done for the development of renovation and other projects in the state and for 100% financial investment.

• After this agreement, progress will be made in the field of renewable energy, especially solar energy in the state.

• About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) 

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is the third largest integrated oil refining and marketing public sector company of the Government of India.

• Bharat Petroleum has got the Navratna status by the government.

• Establishment- 1976

• Headquarter- Mumbai

• Chairman and Managing Director- Ashok Sinha

World Thyroid Day

Tags: Important Days

World Thyroid Day is celebrated every year on 25 May.

• This day is celebrated with the aim of spreading awareness about thyroid and to know about the prevention and treatment of thyroid diseases.

• World Thyroid Day was first celebrated in the year 2008 by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and the European Thyroid Association (ETA) with the aim of creating awareness about thyroid.

• What is thyroid?

• The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland. It is located in the front of the neck.

• This gland produces tetraiodothyronine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) hormones in the body.

• Both these hormones released from the thyroid gland help all the cells of the body to function properly and both these hormones also contribute in controlling the process of metabolism.

• Thyroid problems arise when the thyroid gland produces more or less hormones, and due to this, every cell of the body starts getting affected.

• Hypothyroidism (sudden weight gain) is caused by a deficiency of thyroid hormones.

• An increase in thyroid hormones causes hyperthyroidism.

• Women are more prone to this disease than men.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus re-elected as WHO Director-General

Tags: Person in news

Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been re-elected to this position for a second term of five years.

• During the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, he was confirmed to be re-elected as Director General and his second term will start from 16 August 2022.

• Earlier Dr. Tadros was named Director General of WHO on 23 May 2017.

• His name was proposed by the Ethiopian government. He also served as the Minister of Health in the Ethiopian government.

• WHO Director General's Appointment Process

• According to the constitution of the World Health Organisation, all member countries propose names for the post of Director General. A time limit is fixed for this.

• This time the election process started in April, 2021 after which the deadline for submission of proposal was fixed on April 23, 2021.

• In this election process by the World Health Organization, secret ballot is conducted from all the member countries.

• Any person can be appointed Director General of the World Health Organisation twice and his term is five years.

• Major Institutions and their Headquarters

• About WHO

• The World Health Organisation is an organisation for mutual cooperation on the health related problems of the countries of the world and for developing human understanding related to health.

• Established- April 7, 1948

• Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland

• Director General- Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus

• Deputy Director General- Soumya Swaminathan

Rajasthan Government approved new guidelines for the implementation of Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme

Tags: State News

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved new guidelines for the implementation of Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme.

• New guidelines

• As per the new guidelines, a person in the age group of 18 to 60 years residing in the local body area will be registered on the basis of Jan Aadhaar card.

• Jan Aadhaar card will be issued by the state government and will be the primary eligibility document for enrollment under the scheme.

• Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme

• This scheme is an urban employment scheme announced by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the state budget 2022-23 of Rajasthan.

• Under this scheme, people living in urban areas will be provided employment for at least 100 days per year.

• It has been prepared on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

• The government will spend Rs 800 crore every year on this ambitious scheme.

• To get the work allowed under this scheme, the work will be approved and executed through committees at the state / district / body level.