3rd December, 2021 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
Parliament passes Dam Safety Bill, 2019

• Parliament has passed the Dam Safety Bill, 2019 with the RajyaSabha approving it The House also approved the amendments moved by the government to the bill.
• The Lok Sabha had given its nod to the Bill in 2019.  The bill provides for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of the specified dam for prevention of dam failure related disasters and for institutional mechanism to ensure their safe functioning.
• The bill was moved by Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The Rajya Sabha also negated the motion moved by DMK’s Tiruchi Shiva regarding referring the Dam Safety Bill to Select Committee. Twenty six members voted in favour of it while 80 against the motion.
• The legislation has been brought with and intention of putting in places a protocol for dam safety.  He informed that of the total existing dams in different parts of the country, 92 per cent of them are located on interstate rivers and their safety must be taken care of. He said, the damage to dams may cause huge harm to human lives as well as on whole riverine structure and ecosystem.
• As per the Central Water Commission report, so far as many as 42 dams have breached and steps must be taken to ensure that such incidents do not occur in future and the bill is in that direction. He also informed that there are  14 such dams which are located in those states where the ownership lies with other States and added that  Central government will also ensure their safety. 

INSACOG advises for booster shots

• The INSACOG (Indian SARS CoV – 2 Genomics Consortium) recently suggested a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. The advise is for people above 40 years of age.
• The advise comes to neutralize the Omicron risks in the country. The Omicron is a COVID-19 variant that was recently identified in South Africa. It was declared as “Variant of Concern” by the World Health Organisation. According to INSACOG, it is difficult to detect the presence of the variant in earlier stages of its entry in the country.
• The booster shots are additional dose of vaccine. They are given after the protection provided by the original shots begins to decrease. The booster shots help to maintain the immunity levels in people. All vaccines have booster shots.

Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, introduced in LokSabha

• The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, has been introduced by the Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh in the Lok Sabha today. Congress floor leader AdhirRanjanChowdhury opposing the Bill said the statement of object of the Bill does not have clarity. The party MP ShashiTharoor and the RSP member NK Premachandran said the Bill contravenes several provisions of the Indian Constitution.
• The members who oppose the Bill have jumped to conclusion before reading the contents fully.
• The Minister also introduced the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
• The Bills seek to replace two Ordinances promulgated by the Centre on November 14 this year amending the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.  They provide for the tenure of the Directors of the CVC and the CBI to be extended by up to one year at a time, till the completion of five years from the initial appointment.

India achieves ambitious target of 40% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources

• India has achieved the ambitious target of 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has said that total installed non-fossil fuel-based capacity stands at 156.83 Giga Watts in the country. It said, the country has achieved this target last month, way ahead of the target year set at Conference of the Parties-21 held in France. 
• As a part of its Nationally Determined Contributions, India had committed to achieve 40 percent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030.
• The country’s installed Renewable Energy capacity today stands at 150.05 Giga Watts while its nuclear energy-based installed electricity capacity stands at 6.78 Giga Watts. It said, this brings the total non-fossil based installed energy capacity to 156.83 Giga Watts which is 40.1 percent of the total installed electricity capacity of over 390 Giga Watts.
• The government is committed to achieve 500 Giga Watts of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2030 in line with the Prime Minister NarendraModi announcement at the recently concluded CoP-26.

Awards
Nizamuddin Basti Project gets two UNESCO Heritage Awards

• The UNESCO recently presented two Heritage Awards to the Nizamuddin Basti Project. The project was awarded for its conservation efforts. It was awarded with the Special Recognition for Sustainable Award and Award of Excellence.
• The project restored more than 20 historic monuments located around 14th century Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
• The Nizamuddin area consists of Humayun Tomb and Batashewala Tomb and tomb of a 16th century poet Rahim (Khan I Khanan). These regions were segregated and damaged. They were also renewed by the Nizamuddin Basti Project.
• The project was started in 2007 by the Aga Kahn Trust for Culture, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Urban Heritage Foundation and the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
• The Nizamuddin Basti Project is an Urban Renewal Project. It successfully unified the segregated zones of the seven-century old settlement of the Nizamuddin Basti and its surrounding 70 acres.
• It integrated socio – economic development, conservation and environmental development objectives in these areas.
• It unified three major sites namely Sundar Nursery, Nizamuddin Basti and Humayun Tomb.

INTERNATIONAL
South Sudan to end child marriages by 2030

• South Sudan’s Government has promised to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the African Union's campaign to end child marriages in the continent.
• Paramount chiefs from 10 regional states and the three administrative areas are meeting in the capital, Juba, for the second national conference on ending child marriages.
• Among the proposals suggested at the conference include one from the Swedish Ambassador Joachim Waern for a law criminalising child marriages.
• South Sudan is one of 40 countries in the world with the highest rates of child marriages. A survey conducted in 2010 found that about seven per cent of girls marry before the age of 15 and 40 per cent before the age of 18.
• South Sudan's Gender Ministry says only 6.2 per cent of girls in South Sudan complete primary school, with one out of five dropping out of secondary school due to pregnancies. Those most-affected are between the ages of 15 of 19 years.

US Senate passes bill to avert Government Shutdown

• The US Congress recently passed a stop gap bill to avert government shutdown. The bill extended the funding through mid – February. The bill is usually passed so that the US Government does not run out of money.
• The bill was passed to overcome brinkmanship over vaccine mandates. Brinkmanship is the practice of pursuing dangerous policy limits of safety before stopping. In simple words, the US government was about to run out of money due to its extensive COVID-19 vaccine measures. Therefore, came in demand for additional money. And thus, the stopgap bill was passed. Stopgap means a temporary measure or short-term fix.
• The Government Shutdown occurs in the United States when the US Parliament fails to enact a funding legislation. The funding may be for the next fiscal year or temporary. The current bill passed is for temporary funding.
• Earlier, such shutdown occurred during President Obama period (for 16 days), President Bill Clinton period (21 days) and President Donald Trump period (35 days).
• The shutdown disrupts government programmes and services. This includes closure of institutions and national parks. Also, the major loss occurs due to loss of labour. It also causes significant economic growth.

Persons
Gita Gopinath becomes IMF First Deputy Managing Director 

• The Indian American, Gita Gopinath has become the first Deputy Managing Director of International Monetary Fund. She is the first Indian to take up the top role in the organisation. First Deputy Managing Director is the second top post in IMF next to the Managing Director.
• Gita Gopinath was the first female Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund.
• She was born in Kolkata in 1971. She completed her graduation in University of Delhi and her masters in Washington University and PhD in Princeton University.
• In 2018, she was appointed the Chief Economist of the IMF.
• She named the world wide recession of 2020 due to COVID-19 as “The Great Lockdown”.
• In 2021, she was named the First Managing Director of IMF. It is number 2 position in the organisation.

Important Dates
International Day of Persons with Disabilities; Check Its Importance

• Every year, International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated on December 3 by the United Nations and several other organisations spread all over the world. This year the day is celebrated with the following theme
• Theme: “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19.
• The International Day of Persons with Disability was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. It aims to promote well-being and rights of the persons with disabilities and increase the awareness of situation of persons with disabilities in social, political, economic and cultural life.
• There are more than 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world. Of these 80% live in developing countries.
• Of the disabled persons in the world, 46% are older than 60 years.
• The persons with disabilities are among the hardest hit by COVID-19.

Science and Technology
GJ 367b: Astronomers discover Ultra Short Planet

• The astronomers recently found GJ 367b, a small planet that is circling a dim red dwarf star. The star is 31 light years away from the sun.
• The GJ 367b is a rocky planet. It is 70% the size of the earth. And it is 55% the mass of the earth. This makes GJ 367b one of the lightest known exoplanets.
• The planet completes its orbit in 7.7 hours. Thus, it is called the Ultra Short Period Planet.
• The planet is dominated by an iron core. It is because of this reason the planet has high density.
• The planet has a disproportionately large core. The core is made of iron and nickel. This particular property of the planet is similar to Mercury. Also, it is this property of Mercury that differentiates it from the rest of the planets in solar system.
• TESS is Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. The GJ 367b was identified using the data provided by TESS. TESS revealed the super short orbital period of GJ 367b.
• Also, HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) helped the researchers to calculate the mass of the planet. HARPS is an instrument installed on a 3.6 metre telescope located in European Southern Observatory in Chile.

ECONOMY
NITI Aayog reviews mission of Coal India Limited to produce one billion tonnes of coal by 2025-26

• NITI Aayog reviewed and discussed the mission of Coal India Limited to produce one billion tonnes of coal by 2025-26.
• The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant.
• Coal remains the primary domestic fuel for India as well as the single largest commodity transported across the country. It said, the mining, supply, and consumption of coal are central to the growth of the Indian economy. PM Gati Shakti Mission will reduce the logistics cost for coal evacuation.

Govt accords approval & financial sanction for new nuclear power projects

• The government has accorded approval and financial sanction for new nuclear power projects to generate a total of nine thousand Mega Watts (9,000 MW). In the last decade surpassing the annual targets, over three lakh 81 thousand Million Units of nuclear power have been generated.
• With the completion of new projects, nuclear power capacity will increase from 6,780 MW to 22,480 MW by the year 2031. He said, India has adopted a closed fuel cycle, to reprocess the spent fuel for recovery of fissile material and recycle them to use in the reactor as fuel, leaving a very small percentage of residual material. He also informed that the Department of Atomic Energy has been successfully handling the waste from atomic energy plants for societal applications.

Bilateral
India, Australia hold talks to further expand bilateral ties through Free Trade Agreement

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal had extensive discussion with Australian Prime Minister's Special Trade Envoy Tony Abbott in New Delhi
• The talks were held on the ways to expand bilateral ties between the two countries. There is a huge potential for India and Australia to further energise their trade relationship through Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
• Former Australian Prime Minister, Abbott presently serves as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s special trade envoy for India.
• In September, India and Australia had announced that they will sign a comprehensive Free Trade agreement by the end of 2022 and an early harvest trade deal by Christmas later this year. The announcement was made at a joint media briefing with Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal and the Australian Minister Abbott, during the latter's visit to India.

Published date : 03 Dec 2021 06:39PM