KAS MENTOR Weekly Current Affairs Analysis (May 7-13)

KAS MENTOR
       Weekly Current Affairs Analysis (May 7-13)
                          NATIONAL NEWS
1. Labour Ministry notified Section 142 of Social Security
Code, 2020
                                        Ministry of Labour and Employment has
                                        notified Section 142 of the Social
                                        Security Code, 2020 (SSC 2020),
                                        covering the applicability of Aadhar.
                                        This will allow the Labour Ministry to
                                        collect the Aadhar data of workers in
                                        the unorganized sector, under various
                                        social security schemes.

                                         Major Points
 The collected Aadhar details will be uploaded to National Database for
  Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which is being developed by National
  Informatics Centre (NIC).
 The Labour Ministry clarified that the Section 142 has been notified only for
  collecting the data of workers including migrant workers, for the purpose of
  giving benefits of various schemes of the government.

Section 142 of the SSC, 2020
 This section under the Social Security Code, 2020 enables the beneficiary to
   establish their identity through Aadhar number for registration purpose and
   availing the benefits contemplated under the Social Security Code.

Social Security Code, 2020
 Social security refers to measures taken to ensure access to health care and
   provision of income security to workers.

facebook.com/kasmentor        9061474766/9061484877      www.kasmentor.com

 Social Security Code, 2020 is one of the four codes that are part of centre’s
  labour reform agenda, passed by the Parliament on 23 September 2020.
 The Social Security Code, 2020 will subsume 9 different labour laws relating to
  insurance, provident fund, maternity benefits, gratuity etc.
 The Social Security Code, 2020 is yet to be implemented in India.

2. Cabinet cleared the Strategic Disinvestment of IDBI Bank

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister gave
approval to the strategic disinvestment and
transfer of management control in IDBI Bank.

Major Points
 Central govt and LIC together holds more than 94% of the shares of IDBI Bank.
 LIC, currently the promoter of IDBI Bank with management control has 49.2%
   stake and the Central govt holds 45.58% stake.
 The new shareholding pattern will be decided at the time of structuring the
   transaction in consultation with RBI.
 This strategic disinvestment is as part of the disinvestment drive announced by
   the Finance Minister in the Budget 2021-22 to gather Rs.1.75 lakh crore.

Strategic Disinvestment
 Strategic Disinvestment means the sale of substantial portion of the
  Government shareholding of a Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) of upto
  50% or higher, along with management control to some other entity-mostly a
  private sector entity.
 DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) is the nodal
  agency for such disinvestments in India.

facebook.com/kasmentor         9061474766/9061484877       www.kasmentor.com

3. IIT Kanpur’s SIIC team launched Mission Bharat O2 to tackle
oxygen crisis in India

Start up incubation and Innovation Center (SIIC) of IIT Kanpur has launched Mission
Bharat O2 challenge to develop solutions for ongoing oxygen crisis in India.

Major Points
 Mission Bharat O2 is a 45 days challenge to MSMEs in India.
 It aims to bring more than 20,000 oxygen generation units within the next 6 to
   8 weeks by supporting the MSMEs.

4. Operation CO-JEET launched by Armed Forces to fight
COVID-19 in India
The armed forces of India has launched an operation called CO-JEET to support the
anti-COVID-19 efforts of the country.

Major Points
 CO-JEET stands for “Co-workers of all of the three forces who will lastly obtain
  ‘JEET’ (victory) over COVID-19.”
 It aims at strengthening medical infrastructure and oxygen supply chains and
  ensure mental well being of people.
 Personnel of the Army, Navy and Air Force has been engaged to help restore
  the oxygen supply chain,set up COVID beds and provide help to civilian
  administration in its fight against COVID-19.

5. Assam became first state to adopt Online Flood Reporting
System
On 8 may 2021, Assam govt launched a real time digital Flood Reporting and
Information Monitoring System (FRIMS) to collect the data needed for addressing
the immediate need of vulnerable group (children and women).
facebook.com/kasmentor          9061474766/9061484877       www.kasmentor.com

Major Points
 FRIMS was developed jointly by Assam State Disaster Management Agency
  (ASDMA), and UNICEF (United Nation’s Children Fund)
 Objective - to capture critical impact indicators during flood as the state is facing
  a severe flood every year.

6. NITI Aayog & Mastercard released report on Digitally
Inclusive Bharat
NITI Aayog along with Mastercard released a report titled “Connected
Commerce:Creating a Roadmap for Digitally Inclusive Bharat”.FTI consultancy was
the research and curation partner of this report.
Major Points
 It identifies major challenges in accelerating digital financial inclusion in India
  and provides recommendations for making digital services accessible to 1.3
  billion citizens of India.
Key Recommendations of the report
 Enhancing the payment infrastructure to promote a level player field for NBFCs
  and Banks.
 Create an information sharing system including a ‘fraud repository’.
 Enabling agricultural NBFCs to deploy a ‘Phygital’ model (physical + digital) to
  achieve better long term digital outcomes.
 Digitizing registration and compliance processes and diversifying credit sources
  to enable growth opportunities to MSMEs.

7. MoEFCC notified area around Thane Creek Flamingo
Sanctuary as Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ)

facebook.com/kasmentor           9061474766/9061484877         www.kasmentor.com

Ministry of Environment,Forest and
Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified
48.32 sq.km area around Thane Creek
Flamingo Sanctuary, Thane, Maharshtra
as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
Major Points
 This 48.32 sq.km spread across
  Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.
 ESZs will act as a buffer zone for
  protected areas and reduce developmental pressure around the sanctuary.
 ESZs are notified by MoEFCC under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Eco-Sensitive Zones(ESZs)
 These are ecologically fragile areas within 10 km around protected
  areas,National parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
 ESZs are notified to minimise negative impacts of developmental activities on a
  fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
 Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollutions, establishment of
  hydro electric projects, commercial use of wood, discharge of effluents and
  solid waste or production of hazardous substances etc. are prohibited activities
  in an ESZ.

                         INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. At least 155 million people faced severe hunger in 2020:
GRFC report
Major Points
 Based on the report titled “Global Report on Food Crisis 2021” launched by
  Global Network against Food Crisis (GNFC), UN due to conflicts, extreme
  weather, economic shocks caused by COVID-19.

facebook.com/kasmentor         9061474766/9061484877       www.kasmentor.com

 This include 1,33,000 people who need urgent food for preventing widespread
  death from starvation.
 2021 report focuses on 55 countries accounting for 97% of humanitarian
  assistance need.
 Countries in Africa are highly affected by acute food crisis accounting around
  98 million (means 2 out of 3 people facing food crisis were in Africa)

GRFC Report 2021
Global Report on Food Crisis (GRFC) is an initiative of the Global Network against
Food Crisis (GNFC) ,facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and
its 16 global and regional partners.

2. Reducing Methane emission key to tackle global warming:
Global Methane Assessment 2021.
The 2021 “Global Methane Assessment:Benefits and Costs of mitigating Methane
Emission” released by Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and United Nation’s
Environment Programme (UNEP) stated that human caused methane emission can
be reduced by 45% in this decade (2020-30).

Major Points
 Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is responsible for around 30% of
  global warming since the pre-industrial era.
 Reducing Methane emission by 45% would avoid 0.3°C of global warming by
  2045.
 It will also help countries to keep close with Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of
  limiting the global temperature ruse to 1.5°C.
 It will also prevent around 2,60,000 premature deaths and 7,75,000 asthma
  related hospital cases annualy, 25 million tonnes in crop losses and 73 billion
  hours of lost labour from extreme heat.

3. Interpol launched ID-Art mobile app to track stolen art
facebook.com/kasmentor          9061474766/9061484877       www.kasmentor.com

Interpol has launched a mobile app called ‘ID-Art’ to identify stolen cultural
properties, reducing illicit trafficking,and to increase the chances of recovering the
stolen works and artefacts.
During the pilot phase, the app was successfully used in Italy and Netherlands.

4. Third Arctic Science Ministerial 2021 held in Tokyo, Japan
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial 2021 (ASM 3) held in Tokyo, Japan and Union Minister
of Earth Sciences Dr.Harsh Vardhan virtually attended it.

Major Points
 It was jointly organised by Japan and Iceland.
 Theme of the ASM 3 was “Knowledge for Sustainable Arctic”.
 First two meetings - ASM 1 and ASM 2 were held in USA in 2016 and Germany
  in 2018 respectively.

ASM
 It provides opportunities to various stakeholders including academia,
  indigenous communities, governments and policy makers to enhance collective
  understanding of the Arctic region, emphasise and engage in constant
  monitoring and strengthen observations.
India’s Stand
 To collaborate observing system in the Arctic,both in site and remote sensing.
 India would deploy open ocean mooring in the Arctic for long term monitoring
  of upper ocean variables
 Launching NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission in
  collaboration with USA.

facebook.com/kasmentor           9061474766/9061484877        www.kasmentor.com

5. Mayflower 400, world’s first unmanned ship to navigate
across the Atlantic
World’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled
ship Mayflower 400 is set to navigate across
Atlantic.
Major Points
 Mayflower 400 is an unmanned ship
  controlled by AI to track aquatic animals,
  analyse plastic in the water and study marine pollution.
 It is a 15 meter long trimaran weighing 9 tons built by Marine Research
  Organization ProMare in collaboration with IBM.

6. 219 endangered species threatened by armed conflicts: IUCN
Report
According to the report titled “Nature in a globalised world: Conflict and
Conservation” published by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
civil riots and military exercises pose high risk to around 219 endangered species.
Major Points
 Most important among these 219 species are critically endangered Eastern
  Gorilla and Elephant population.
 This report is the first in IUCN’s “Nature in a globalized World” report series.
 It examines the impact of armed conflicts on environment and animal species.
 Risks created due to the conflicts are direct killings, killing for target practise
  and sometimes for food.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
 IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation
  and sustainable use of natural resources.
 Found in 5 October 1948 in Fontainebleau, France.

facebook.com/kasmentor           9061474766/9061484877        www.kasmentor.com

 Dr.Bruno Oberle is the Director General of IUCN and it is headquarted at Gland,
  Switzerland.

                         SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe detected radio signals from
Venus
NASA’s spacecraft Parker Solar Probe has detected a natural radio burst from
Venus,when the spacecraft flew over the upper atmosphere of Venus.
Parker Solar Probe
 It is part of NASA’s “Living with a Star” programme that explores different
  aspects of Sun-Earth system,launched in 12 August 2018.
 It is set to fly into Sun’s corona within 3.8 million miles from the solar surface,
  7 times closer than any other spacecraft.
 The probe is set to conduct 7 Venus flybys over nearly 7 years.

2. World’s first 2 Nanometre chip technology unveiled by IBM
IBM unveiled world’s first 2 nanometre chip technology that helps to speed up
access to internet, longer battery life and faster processing capacities.

Major Points
 Expected to achieve 45% higher performance and 75% lower energy use.
 Today’s most advanced chips are based on 7 nanometre technology.

3. VINCOV-19,antibody for COVID-19 cleared for clinical trials
The Drug Controller General of India(DCGI) has given permission to conduct clinical
trials of VINCOV-19, an antibody for COVID-19 developed by Hyderabad based VINS
Bioproducts.

facebook.com/kasmentor           9061474766/9061484877        www.kasmentor.com

Major Points
 VINCOV-19 is a joint effort by the University of Hyderabad(HCU), CSIR-Centre
  for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and VINS Bioproducts,
  Hyderabad.
 It is an antibody obtained after the immunisation of horses with inactivated
  SARS-CoV-2 virus in combination with other things.

4. NASA spacecraft OSIRIS Rex returning ti earth with samples
collected from Asteroid Bennu

NASA’s spacecraft “Origins, Spectral Interpretations, Resource Identification,
Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS Rex) started its return trip to earth with samples
collected from asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS Rex spacecraft
 The spacecraft was launched on 8 September 2016 to observe and collect
  samples from asteroid Bennu, which is located around 200 million miles
  (around 1.9 astronomical unit) away from earth.
 Spacecraft reached Bennu in 2018 and is estimated to reach earth by
  September 2023.
 The sample collector on this spacecraft is called Touch-And-Go- Sample
  Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head.
 Apart from US, Japan is the only country to reach asteroid Bennu.

                                 ECONOMICS
1. RBI set up Advisory Panel under S.Janakiraman to assist
RRA 2.0

facebook.com/kasmentor           9061474766/9061484877        www.kasmentor.com

RBI’s Second Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0) has constituted a 6 member
advisory panel headed by S.Janakiraman, MD of State Bank of India,to support in
reviewing RBI’s regulations and compliance procedures to rationalise them to make
them more effective.

2nd Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0)
 Formed by RBI on 15 April 2021 for a period of 1 year from 1 May 2021.
 It will focus on streamlining regulatory instructions, reducing burden of the
  regulated entities by simplifying procedures and reducing reporting
  requirements wherever possible.
 Regulated entities include commercial banks, urban cooperative banks, NBFCs
  etc.

facebook.com/kasmentor         9061474766/9061484877       www.kasmentor.com