16th December, 2021 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

National
Cabinet approves implementation of Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana for 2021-26

Union Cabinet has approved implementation of Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana for 2021-26. The scheme will benefit about 22 lakh farmers, including 2.5 lakh Schedule Caste and two lakh Schedule Tribe farmers.
Speaking to reporters, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, an outlay of over ninety-three thousand crore rupees will be spent. Terming the decision as historic, the Minister said, out of ninety-three thousand crore rupees, thirty-seven thousand four hundred fifty-four crore rupees will be central assistance to states.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, this decision will bring positive change to lakhs of families. Central funding of 90 percent of water component for two national projects has been provisioned.
These are Renuka Ji Dam Project in Himachal Pradesh and Lakhwar Multipurpose Project in Uttarakhand. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, HarKhetkoPaani and Watershed Development components have been approved for continuation during 2021-26.
Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme a flagship programme of the government, aims for financial support to irrigation projects. Total additional irrigation potential creation targeted during 2021-26 under AIBP is 13.88 lakh hectares.
Apart from focused completion of 60 ongoing projects including their 30.23 lakh hectare command area development, additional projects can also be taken up. The inclusion criteria have been relaxed for projects under tribal and drought-prone areas.

Centre sets up Price Stabilization Fund to moderate the prices of Agro commodities: Govt. in Lok Sabha

The Centre has set up the Price Stabilization Fund to tackle price volatility of agro commodities such as onion, potato, and pulses to protect the interests of consumers.
This was stated by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ashwini Kumar Choubeyin a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The Minister said, buffer stocks of pulses and onion are maintained under price stabilization fund to moderate the prices. He said, these efforts deter speculative and hoarding activities.
He added, the Government has issued advisory to States and Union Territories to set up the State-level Price Stabilization Fund corpus. He said, a buffer stock of more than two lakh metric tonnes of onion has been maintained in this fiscal year.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan held meeting with States/UTs to review status of Medical Oxygen devices

Centre reviewed commissioning, installation, and functional status of oxygen supply equipment supplied by it to the states and UTs.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and its uninterrupted supply in sufficient quantity is of critical importance to tackle the pandemic.
The Health Secretary held a meeting with States and UTs to review the status and their preparedness regarding Medical Oxygen devices and systems through video conference.
He said, the Centre has assisted them through availability of equipment, technical and financial support for PSA plants, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, Liquid Medical Oxygen plants, and Medical Gas Pipeline systems.
He urged the States to review and monitor the status of these on a daily basis to ensure that the gap between the equipment and systems delivered to the Districts and installed at the healthcare facilities is reduced to zero.
While equipment and systems have been sanctioned and delivered, in many states these have not been sent to the district healthcare facilities and when delivered, some have still not been made functional.
The States were strongly urged to schedule and conduct mock drills of all installed and commissioned PSA Plants to ensure that they are in fully operational status, so that the oxygen with the required quantity, pressure, and purity reaches the intended patients at their bedside.

PM, CM Jagan Mohan announces Ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh &Rs. 2 Lakh respectively for bus accident victims

In Andhra Pradesh, at least 9 people, including the driver were killed and several others injured in a major bus accident in West Godavari district.
According to the police, the APSRTC bus which was carrying 47 passengers, overturned and plunged into the Jalleruagu rivulet near Jangareddygudem in the district.
At least 26 people were seriously injured in the accident. There are six women among those who were killed in the accident. The injured have been shifted to the hospital.
The incident took place when the bus was on its way to Jangareddygudem in West Godavari from Aswaraopeta in BhadradriKothagudem District of Telangana State. Divers were called to help in the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed sadness at the loss of lives due to a bus accident in West Godavari of Andhra Pradesh. In his message, Mr. Modi said, his thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.
The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia of two lakh rupees each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the bus accident.
Meanwhile, AP Governor BiswaBhusanHarichandan and Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed anguish over the bus mishap.
The AP State Government has announced an ex-gratia payment of 5 Lakh rupee each to the kin of the deceased. West Godavari District Collector, Karthikeya Mishra, and S.P Rahuldev Sharma are looking after the rescue operation.

International
Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading at unprecedented rate, warns WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act swiftly to rein in the transmission.
Omicron, which was first detected by South Africa and reported to the WHO in November, has a large number of mutations, setting alarm bells ringing since its discovery.
WHO chief TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the strain had been reported in 77 countries and had probably spread to most nations undetected at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.
The WHO also provided room for cautious optimism, saying, Africa had recorded a massive rise in cases over the past week but a lower number of deaths compared with previous waves. But it urged countries to act swiftly to rein in transmission and protect their health systems and warned against complacency.
WHO expert Bruce Aylwardcautioned against jumping to a conclusion that this is a mild disease. He said, people could be setting themselves up for a very dangerous situation.
Meanwhile, Europe has become the world's coronavirus hotspot. It has recorded 62 percent of the world's total Covid cases in the past seven days, while the five countries with the world's highest infection rates are all European.
The Netherlands followed other European nations in reintroducing restrictions yesterday as Prime Minister Mark Rutteannounced primary schools will shut next week and a night-time lockdown will be extended amid Omicron fears.
France registered 63,405 new coronavirus cases, its highest daily total since April.
In neighboring Britain, the ruling Conservative government suffered a major parliamentary rebellion as almost 100 of its MPs rejected new COVID restrictions as the country responds to Omicron. The Boris Johnson administration will introduce new rules on mask-wearing, daily testing to avoid isolation and vaccine passes for certain places in England.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin hold virtual summit; vows to support each other's national interest

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin vowed to further enhance the relationship between the two countries during a virtual meeting on 15th Dec.
President Xi stated that China and Russia firmly support each other on crucial issues and safeguard their national dignity and national interests, reports from Chinese and Russian state media said. The Chinese President noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation and the two sides have decided to extend the treaty for another five years.
He said that China and Russia should take the opportunities brought by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation and expedite industrial cooperation on cutting-edge technologies.
Speaking of the trade between the two countries, President Xi hailed tremendous political strengths and huge potential as trade between China and Russia in the first three quarters of 2021 has topped 100 billion dollars for the first time.
For the whole year, bilateral trade looks to reach a record high, he said. Both the leaders held their previous video conference on June 28. Chinese state media quoted President Putin saying that he looks forward to his upcoming visit to China and attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Economy
India attracts highest FDI inflow of 81.97 billion US dollars in current fiscal year despite Covid-19 pandemic: Govt.

India has attracted highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment, FDI inflow of 81.97 billion US dollars in the current fiscal year despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic.
This was stated by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry SomParkash in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The Minister said, India has received FDI inflow worth 440.27 billion US dollars in the last seven years.
He said, this is nearly 58 percent of the FDI reported in the last 21 years. He said, India is becoming a preferred investment destination amongst global investors.

Sports
I will be available for three-match ODI Cricket series and never asked for a break: ViratKohli

Indian Test skipper ViratKohli clarified that he will be available for the three-match ODI Cricket series and had never asked for a break, contrary to media reports.
Addressing media virtually Kohli also said that he came to know of Rohit Sharma replacing him as ODI captain just one-and-a-half hours before the Test series squad for South Africa was announced.
He said that he was contacted one-and-a-half hours before selection for Tests. Kohli said, the chief selector discussed the Test squad with him.
India's upcoming South Africa tour is scheduled to begin from December 26.

BWF World Championships: H.S. PrannoyEnroute to pre-quarterfinals, PV Sindhu up against PornpaweeChochuwong

In Badminton, H.S. Prannoy extended his dream run with another impressive victory against Daren Liew of Malaysia 21-7, 21-17 in the second round of the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain.
Prannoy entered the men's singles pre-quarterfinals along with Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen.
Women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy shocked Chinese 14th seeds Liu Xuan Xuan and Xia Yu-Ting 21-11, 9-21, 21-13 to join the rest of the Indian squad in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the pre-quarterfinals, P.V. Sindhu will meet PornpaweeChochuwong of Thailand in women's singles. In Men's Singles, Lakshya Sen will face Kevin Cordón of Guatemala, H.S. Prannoy will play against RasmusGemke of Denmark and Kidambi Srikanth.

Published date : 16 Dec 2021 06:07PM