Daily Current Affairs and GK | 12 August 2021

Topic: Defense News

1. India to take part in a naval exercise with Saudi Arabia.

• India and Saudi Arabia will take part in their first-ever naval exercise “Al Mohed Al Hind”.
• Guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi with its two integral Sea King-42B helicopters will take part in this naval exercise from the Indian side.
• This naval exercise is a part of India’s policy to strengthen its ties with Gulf countries.
• Recently, the Indian Navy and UAE Navy participated in the bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar 2021’ on 07 August.
• India is also planning to export BrahMos supersonic to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Cashify appoints Rajkummar Rao as its first brand ambassador.

• Cashify, re-commerce marketplace of the smartphone, has appointed Rajkummar Rao as its first brand ambassador.
• Rajkummar Rao signed a multi-year contract with the company. He will promote the products across digital media platforms through campaigns and promotional activities.
• Recently, Cashify has acquired UniShop to diversify its services.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

3. Maharashtra government announced Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Information Technology (IT).

• Maharashtra government has announced Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Information Technology (IT) on 10 August 2021.
• As per the Minister of State for Information and Technology Satej Patil, the award would be announced on August 20, which is the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
• The Minister said that an award will be given to institutions and companies for outstanding performance in the information technology sector.
• The Minister also said that he would speak with organisations like NASSCOM to finalise award’s modalities.
• This year, the award would be given before October 30. The award would be given on 20 August from next year.
• Maharashtra IT Corporation Limited had been appointed the nodal agency to propose the award.
• The award has been announced by the Maharashtra government days after the central government changed the name of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
• Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India between 1984 and 1989. He became the youngest Indian Prime Minister at the age of 40.

Topic: Indian Polity

4. Criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs cannot be withdrawn by state governments without prior orders from state High Courts. 

• Three –judge bench of Supreme Court has said that criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs cannot be withdrawn by state governments without prior orders from state High Courts. 
• The bench was headed by Chief Justice of India Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana and also comprised of Justices Surya Kant and Vineet Saran.
• Supreme Court was hearing the petition seeking a direction to debar convicted MLAs and MPs from contesting elections for life and setting up of special courts and speedy disposal of cases against them.
• Senior lawyer, Vijay Hansaria, who is the Amicus Curiae (A friend of the Court) in the case, said that issue of withdrawal of cases against 61 leaders by the order of the Karnataka state government, has to be considered by Supreme Court.
• He requested Supreme Court that it must pass orders that without the order of the concerned State High Courts, the state government cannot pass any order for withdrawal of any cases against the convicted MPs and MLAs.
• The Supreme Court asked the Registrar General of all High Courts are required to submit a chart of judges, pending cases, disposed off cases, etc. before this court and listed the matter for further hearing to August 25, 2021.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. India has been ranked 122^nd on Global Youth Development Index.

• India has been ranked 122^nd on Global Youth Development Index 2020 among 181 countries.
• It has been released by the Commonwealth Secretariat to measure the condition of young people across the world.
• According to this ranking, Afghanistan, India, Russia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso were the top five improvers between 2010 to 2018.
• 156 countries have shown slight improvement in their score. The global education score increased by 3 percent and the Peace and security score has improved by 3.41 percent.
• Between 2010 to 2018, Syria, Ukraine, Libya, Jordan, and Lebanon showed a decline in Youth development.
• The ranking has been topped by Singapore. Slovenia and Norway have been ranked second and third respectively.
• The index gives ranking to countries based on the score between 0.00 (lowest) and 1.00 (highest) according to the progress in youth education, employment, health, and political and civic participation.
• It uses 27 indicators including literacy and voting to rank countries.

Topic: National News

6. Indore becomes first Water Plus city of India.

• Indore has been declared as India’s first Water Plus city. Indore is the cleanest city of India.
• According to the guidelines of the Water Plus Protocol, 147 special types of urinals and seven sewerage treatment plants were constructed in the city.
• 84 cities of the country had applied in the selection process of Water Plus city.
• Various parameters of cleanliness including ODF Plus, ODF Double Plus, and Water Plus are used for providing the ranking to cities under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban.
• The Water Plus certificate is given to only those cities that have met all the standards of ODF Double Plus.
• Water Plus cities release the sewage into the environment only after treatment.

Topic: Important Days

7. International Youth Day: 12 August

• International Youth Day is observed every year on 12 August.
• This year's theme of International Youth Day is "Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health".
• In the year 1999, the United General Assembly declared 12 August as International Youth Day.
• It was first celebrated in 1999. This year, it will be celebrated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• On this occasion, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur will give the National Youth Awards 2017-18 and 2018-19.
• Total 14 awards will be given for National Youth Awards 2017-18 and 8 awards will be given for National Youth Awards 2018-19.
• The award comprises a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize of one lakh rupees to individuals and a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees to the organization.

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

8. Maharashtra government announce 1% reservation for children orphaned due to corona.

• Maharashtra government has announced that state government will give 1 percent reservation in education and jobs to children orphaned due to corona.
• The women and child welfare department will pay the fees of the orphaned children primary, secondary, and higher education.
• Maharashtra government has made three categories of Covid orphans:
  • The A category has those orphaned children whose parents died due to Covid and they do not have any information about any relatives or siblings.
  • The B category includes those children who belong to SC, ST, and OBC communities but have no sufficient documents to prove that.
  • The C category orphans children are those who have relatives from their father's side. They will reservation in only education.
• The state government will set up also set up 50 hostels for working women under the ‘Hostels for Working Women’ scheme.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Government will launch Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 on 13 August.

• On 13 August, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur will launch the Nationwide programme of Fit India Freedom Run 2.0.
• It will be launched as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Nisith Pramanik will also join the launch event.
• 75 different events will be organized at different historical locations of the country. Fit India Freedom Run will be organized in 744 Districts and 75 villages.
• The aim of Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 is to encourage people to take part in fitness activities such as running and sports.
• Many activities like a pledge, rendering of the National Anthem, Freedom Run will be organized on the occasion of Fit India Freedom Run 2.0.

Topic: Important Days

10. World Elephant Day is observed every year on 12 August.

• World Elephant Day is observed every year on 12 August to recognize importance of elephants in our ecosystem.
• The day also aims to raise awareness about the importance of preservation and protection of elephants.
• First World Elephant Day was observed on 12 August 2012. Thailand-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims organised the events on this day.
• Sims has been leading World Elephant Day since 2012. Her charitable organisation World Elephant Society has, over the years, educated many.
• As per recent data of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), roughly 440,000 elephants are left on the earth and number of wild Asiatic elephants has decreased below 50,000.
• The Red List of IUCN lists African elephants as vulnerable and Asian elephants as Endangered.

Topic: Indian Polity

11. Government gives Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra additional charge of Governor of Mizoram.

• Government has given Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra additional charge of Governor of Mizoram.
• Government has also given Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad additional charge of Governor of Manipur.
• Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra will perform duties of governor of Mizoram Hari Babu Kambhampati in addition to his own duties.
• Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad will perform duties of Dr Najma A Heptulla, Governor of Manipur in addition to his own duties.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

12. UNICEF India and Facebook launch one-year long joint initiative to build safe online environment for children.

• UNICEF India and Facebook have launched one-year long joint initiative to build safe online environment for children.
• A nation-wide social media campaign, and capacity building for 100,000 school children on online safety, digital literacy, and psychosocial support will be included in this partnership.
• The partnership aims to create a safe environment for children online and offline. It aims to improve children’s resilience and capacity to access the digital world safely.
• It also aims to increase awareness on violence against children and its impact on children, families, and communities.
• Facebook is an American online social media and Social networking company. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. Its headquarters is located in California, United States.

Topic: Personality in News

13. Dr Balaji Tambe dies at the age of 81.

• Renowned Ayurvedacharya Dr Balaji Tambe has died at the age of 81.
• He was a well-known spiritual leader, an Ayurveda doctor and a proponent of Yoga.
• He was founder of 'Atmasantulana Village', a holistic healing centre near Lonavala.
• He has written several books on spirituality, Yoga and Ayurveda.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

14. Indian team wins US Innovation Award.

• SoftWorthy's team has won the prestigious National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps (NSF I-Corps) Teams Award in the United States.
• The team is involved in a project that aims to develop computational methods for 'stochastic modeling, design simulation and sensitivity analysis' of electronic devices like printed-circuit-boards (PCBs).
• SoftWorthy’s innovation will help in designing next-generation electronic devices.
• SoftWorthy founded in 2020 develops cutting-edge scientific computing and data analysis tools for resolving complex engineering problems in the industry.