Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 6 October 2021

Daily Current Affairs 06/10/2021

Jal Jeevan Mission App and Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh

Why in News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jal Jeevan Mission App and Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Key Points

About Jal Jeevan Mission App:

The Jal Jeevan Mission App has been launched to improve awareness among stakeholders and for greater transparency and accountability of schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

About Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh:

In Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh, any individual, institution, corporation, or philanthropist, be it in India or abroad, can contribute to help provide tap water connection in every rural household, school, Anganwadi centre, ashram shala, and other public institutions.

About Jal Jeevan Mission:

Its aim is to provide piped water to all the rural households by 2024.
It was launched on 15 August 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

Note:

Since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, 5 crore households have been connected with water connections.
Today, water is reaching every household in about 1.25 lakh villages in about 80 districts of the country.
In the Aspirational districts the number of tap connections have increased from 31 lakh to 1.16 crore.

Source: newsonair

Wetlands of India Portal

Why in News

The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav has launched a web portal – ‘Wetlands of India Portal’.

Key Points

The portal is a single point access to all information relating to wetlands in India.
The portal has been developed under a Technical Cooperation project “Wetlands Management for Biodiversity and Climate Protection” (Wetlands Project) of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Source: PIB

Trans- Himalayan region becoming one of the promising astronomical sites globally

Why in News

The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located at Hanle near Leh in Ladakh is becoming one of the promising observatory sites globally according to a recent study.

Key Points

The Hanle site is as dry as Atacama Desert in Chile and much drier than Devasthal and has around 270 clear nights in a year and is also one of the emerging sites for infrared and sub-mm optical astronomy.
This is because water vapour absorbs electromagnetic signals and reduces their strength.

Need:

Astronomers are constantly searching for ideal locations around the world to build their next big telescope based on local meteorological data collected over many years.

Other Promising Sites:

Devasthal in Nainital
Merak observatories in Ladakh
Ali Observatory in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China
South African Large Telescope in South Africa
National Astronomical Observatory in Mexico
University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory
Paranal in Chile

Source: PIB

Pandora Papers Leak

Why in News

The International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ) has come out with what is claimed to be a 2.94 terabyte data trove that exposes the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories.
Pandora Papers are 9 million leaked files from 14 global corporate services firms.
There are at least 380 persons of Indian nationality in the Pandora Papers including 60 prominent individuals and companies.

Key Points

The investigation is based on a leak of confidential records of 14 offshore service providers that give professional services to wealthy individuals and corporations seeking to incorporate shell companies, trusts, foundations and other entities in low or no-tax jurisdictions.
Further, the Government of India has directed that, investigations in cases of Pandora Papers leaks appearing in the media under the name ‘PANDORA PAPERS’ will be monitored through the Multi Agency Group, headed by the Chairman, CBDT.
Earlier similar such leaks- Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.

Government’s Initiatives:

Legislative Action:

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015
The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016
The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

Source: Indian Express

Exercise ‘Mitra Shakti 2021’

Why in News

The 8th edition of India-Sri Lanka bilateral Joint Military Exercise ‘Mitra Shakti 2021’commenced at the Combat Training School Ampara in Sri Lanka.
The two-week-long exercise is being conducted from 4 to 15 October 2021.

Key Points

The Indian Army contingent of 120 personnel of Infantry Battalion Group and a similar strength from a Battalion of the Sri Lankan Army are participating in the bilateral exercise.
The aim of the exercise is to promote close relations between Armies of both countries and enhance inter-operability and sharing best practices in counter insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

Note: The 7^th Edition of Exercise Mitra Shakti was conducted at Foreign Training Node, Pune, Maharashtra in 2019.

Source: The Hindu

Amazon’s Astro Robot

Why in News

Recently, Amazon launched a home robot named ‘Astro’.
However, civil society has highlighted the concerns of privacy issues of 24×7 surveillance.

Key Points

About Astro:

The robot has cartoony-eyes on a tablet-like touchscreen and comes equipped with a periscope camera and microphone.
Astro is basically a combination of the Echo Show and sophisticated Ring security camera integrated into one single device.
The home robot is designed to take up tasks such as home monitoring, setting up routines and reminders, and can play music and TV shows while rolling around the house.

Issues Related to Privacy:

Civil society is worried that the amount of data Amazon gets to fetch with the Astro, giving the company easy access to the household.
There are concerns of stealing or hacking of the device.
Due to this, the perpetrator can get access to the digital map that the robot creates of someone’s home.

Source: Indian Express

David Julius, Ardem Patapoutian win 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Why in News

American scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian jointly won the 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

Key Points

Their findings “have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us.”
“This knowledge is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of disease conditions, including chronic pain.”

About Nobel Prize:

Nobel Prizes were created and funded in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.
Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Sir Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.

Source: Indian Express

SBI, Indian Navy launch NAV-eCash Card

Why in News

State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Navy launched SBI's NAV-eCash Card onboard the country's largest naval aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

Key Points

The Card will obviate the difficulties faced by personnel onboard in handling physical cash during deployment of the ship at high seas.
The infrastructure at naval ships inhibits traditional payment solutions particularly when the ship is in high sea where there is no connectivity.
NAV-eCash Card, with its dual-chip technology, will facilitate both online as well as offline transactions

Source: ET

FC Goa clinch maiden Durand Cup football trophy

FC Goa (Football Club Goa) claimed their maiden Durand Cup football title after a 1-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting Club in the final in Kolkata.
The Durand Cup crown also marks FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando Fenoll's first-ever trophy on Indian soil.
FC Goa got 40 lakh rupees for winning the title, while Mohammedan Sporting received 20 lakh rupees.

Source: newsonair