4th May, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
PM Modi, his Danish counterpart MetteFrederiksen hold delegation level talks in Copenhagen

Prime Minister NarendraModi today held delegation-level talks with Denmark's Prime Minister MetteFrederiksen in Copenhagen of Denmark. Both leaders reviewed the progress of the Green Strategic Partnership which was the first of its kind arrangement between India and Denmark.
Prime Minister Modi took a private tour of the official residence of the Danish Prime Minister at Marienborg.
MrModi reached Denmark's capital this afternoon for the second leg of his visit to three-European nations. As a special gesture, Denmark's Prime Minister received Prime Minister Modi at the Copenhagen airport.
Both India and Denmark not only share the values of democracy, freedom of expression, and the rule of law but both also have many complementary strengths.
During the India-Denmark Virtual Summit in October 2020, we gave our relationship the status of a Green Strategic Partnership. and during our today's discussion we reviewed the joint work-plan of our Green Strategic Partnership.

CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated nation’s first ethanol plant in Purnia, Bihar

Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has inaugurated India’s first ethanol plant in Purnia district, Bihar. The plant has been set up by Eastern India Biofuels Private Limited at a cost of Rs 105 crores. Bihar came up with an ethanol production promotion policy in the first half of 2021. It is the country’s first grain-based ethanol plant.
The plant, situated at GaneshpurParora, about 12 km from Purnia town, is spread over 15 acres of land.
Purnia, Katihar, Araria and Kishanganj districts, known as the Seemanchal region, account for 80% of the total maize produced in Bihar and together produce 30-35 lakh metric tonnes (MTs) from April to August.
Bihar came up with an ethanol production promotion policy in the first half of 2021.
In Bihar, 17 ethanol production plants are being set up, which is likely to produce 35 crorelitres of fuel every year by using sugarcane, molasses, maize and broken rice.
The ethanol manufactured will be supplied to oil marketing companies for blending into petrol and diesel.
Ethanol plants are being set up in Muzaffarpur, Bhojpur, Nalanda, Buxar, Madhubani, Begusarai, Gopalganj, East Champaran, Bhagalpur, besides Purnia.

INTERNATIONAL

India and Germany sign joint declaration of Intent on Indo-German Hydrogen Task Force

India and Germany have signed joint declaration of Intent on Indo-German Hydrogen Task Force. The declaration was signed virtually yesterday between Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R.K Singh and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Change Dr. Robert Habeck.
India has emerged as one of the world leaders in energy transition with the fastest rate of growth of renewable energy capacities in the world. India has huge ambitions for energy transition and it will add 500 GigaWatt of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. India is coming out with bids for green hydrogen.

Bangladesh drops 10 notches in the World Press Freedom Index.

Bangladesh dropped ten notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2022 released by the the media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) on Tuesday. Out of 180 countries listed on the index for 2022, Bangladesh ranks 162. In 2021, it had ranked 152. Its score also fell from 50.29 in 2021 to 36.63 in 2022.
Three Nordic countries Norway, Denmark and Sweden were on the top of the list occupying the first three positions on the index. North Korea is at the bottom of the index at 180th level while China has been placed on 175th and Myanmar on the 176th position of the index.
The report classifies the situation in 28 countries as ‘very bad’ while 42 countries have been classified under the category of ‘difficult situation’.
The report highlights the ‘disastrous effects of news and information chaos’ as an effect of the globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda. It notes that media polarisation is feeding and reinforcing internal social divisions in democratic societies like the United States. The increase in social and political tension is being fuelled by social media and new opinion media.
The RSF has developed a new methodology to compile the 20th World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) using five indicators including the political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and security. In view of the new methodology, RSF says that care should be taken when comparing 2022 rankings with the earlier rankings.
The indicators are prepared on the basis of a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses against the journalists and media. The qualitative study is based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts selected by the RSF.
The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) has been criticised for its opaque methodology and subjectivity in the rankings. Criticism has been leveled against the WPFI criteria and its perceived biases. Many countries reject its rankings for being based on perception and not on statistical data

European Union to slap new sanctions on Russia, aims to de-SWIFT more banks

The European Union will slap new sanctions on Russia for its military action against Ukraine, targeting Moscow's oil industry, more Russian banks, and those responsible for misinformation, the EU's top diplomat said. JosepBorrell, head of the foreign policy unit at the EU's executive European Commission, said in a tweet yesterday that they are working on the sixth package of sanctions which aims to de-SWIFT more banks, list disinformation actors, and tackle oil imports.
The latest round of sanctions would also affect Sberbank, Russia's top lender, diplomats said, adding it to several banks that have already been excluded from the SWIFT messaging system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put the West on notice yesterday that he could terminate exports and deals in response to the sanctions burden imposed by the EU and the United States.
An embargo on Russian oil would deprive Moscow of a large revenue stream, but reaching an agreement on the measure has divided countries of the bloc, which relies on Russia for 26 percent of its oil imports.
Hungary and Germany were among those with reservations against an oil embargo.

Twitter may charge a nominal fee for commercial and government users, says Elon Musk

Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that Twitter Inc will always be free for casual users but may charge a nominal fee for commercial and government users.
After adding the company to his cart recently, Musk said he wanted to enhance the platform with new features, make the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeat spam bots, and authenticate all humans.
Last month, even before reaching a deal with Twitter, Musk had suggested a few changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price

North Korea launches suspected ballistic missile toward eastern waters

North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern waters today, South Korean and Japanese officials said. It comes a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal at the fastest possible pace and threatened to use them against rivals.
The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing, also came six days before a new South Korean President takes office for a single five-year term.

Science and Technology

Declaration for the Future of the Internet

Recently, the USA and 60 other countries signed a new Declaration for the Future of the Internet.

What are the goals of the declaration?

To keep the Internet open, free, and neutral.
To prevent rising digital authoritarianism.
To ensure affordability, net neutrality, and removing illegal content without curtailing free expression.
To reduce the environmental footprint of the Internet and digital technologies.

What are the commitments under the declaration

Protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all.
Promoting a global Internet that advances the free flow of information.
Advancing inclusive and affordable connectivity so that everyone can benefit from the digital economy.
Promoting trust in the global digital ecosystem, including through protection of privacy.
Protecting and strengthening the multi-stakeholder approach to governance that keeps the Internet running for the benefit of all.

What are the major countries that signed the declaration?
The USA, European Union (EU), United Kingdom, Canada, France, etc.

Did India sign the declaration?

India did not sign the declaration.
China and Russia are also not part of this declaration.

What are the threats to the internet in present times?

Rising digital authoritarianism where some states repress freedom of expression, censor independent websites, interfere with elections, promote disinformation, and deny human rights.
Also, there are cybersecurity risks that undermine the trust and reliability of networks.

What is the rank of India regarding internet shutdowns?

According to the digital rights advocacy group, “Access Now”, India is the top country to impose internet shutdowns in 2021 for the fourth consecutive year.
Out of 106 shutdowns in India, 85 were reported in Jammu and Kashmir.

ECONOMY

RBI: India among worst-hit in pandemic, economy will recover in 13 years

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report said India was one of the worst-hit nations during the Covid-19 pandemic and that it will take up to 13 years for India to fully recover from the scars of the Covid-19 pandemic. India suffered among the biggest pandemic induced losses in the world in terms of output, lives and livelihoods, which may take years to recover. Economic activity has barely recovered to pre-COVID levels even after two years.
The pre-COVID trend growth rate works out to 6.6 per cent (CAGR for 2012-13 to 2019-20) and excluding the slowdown years it works out to 7.1 per cent (CAGR for 2012-13 to 2016-17).
Taking the actual growth rate of (-) 6.6 per cent for 2020-21, 8.9 per cent for 2021-22 and assuming a growth rate of 7.2 per cent for 2022-23, and 7.5 per cent beyond that, India is expected to overcome COVID-19 losses in 2034-35.
The RBI report further added that the pandemic is a watershed moment and the ongoing structural changes catalysed by the pandemic can potentially alter the growth trajectory in the medium-term.
Sustained thrust on capital expenditure by the government, push to digitalisation and growing opportunities for new investment in areas like e-commerce, start-ups, renewables and supply chain logistics could in turn, contribute to step up the trend growth while closing the formal-informal gap in the economy.

Published date : 04 May 2022 06:36PM