Daily Current Affairs and GK | 16 September 2021

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. PM Modi to attend First in-person Quad Summit hosted by US.

• On 24 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the first-ever in-person Quad summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.
• The leaders will discuss various issues including critical and emerging technologies, connectivity and infrastructure, cyber security, maritime security, etc.
• In March 2021, President Biden had hosted the first-ever summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format.
• The theme for this year’s General Debate is ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’.
• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga will also attend this quadrilateral summit.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the 76^th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 25 September.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

2. Rajasthan made ‘misbehaviour with tourists’ a cognizable offence.

• Rajasthan government has added a new section 27-A in the Rajasthan Tourism Trade (Facilitation and Regulation) Act, 2010. It has made misbehaviour with tourists a cognizable offence in Rajasthan.
• Rajasthan Legislative Assembly passed the Rajasthan Tourism Trade (Facilitation and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021.
• Every year lakhs of domestic and foreign tourists visit Rajasthan. It plays a key role in the economy of Rajasthan.
• The new legislation has been brought to boost the tourism sector in the state. If the offence is repeated, it will be non-bailable.
• The new laws will apply for offences like extort money from tourists, touting activities, misleading tourists, etc.

Topic: National News

3. Union Cabinet approves structural and process reforms in Telecom Sector.

• Union Cabinet has approved structural and process reforms in Telecom Sector.
• Under structural reforms, non-telecom revenue has been excluded on a prospective basis from the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
• In future Auctions, the tenure of spectrum has been increased from 20 to 30 years. Surrender of the spectrum will be permitted after 10 years for spectrum acquired in future auctions.
• There will be no Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) for spectrum acquired in future spectrum auctions.
• To encourage investment, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under automatic route has been permitted in Telecom Sector.
• Under procedural reforms, the Cabinet has approved Self-KYC (App based). Further, E-KYC rate has been revised to only One Rupee. Shifting from Prepaid to Post-paid and vice-versa will not require fresh KYC.
• In order to address liquidity requirements of Telecom Service Providers (TSP), Union Cabinet has approved moratorium/deferment of upto four years in annual payments of dues arising out of the AGR judgement.
• Further, Union Cabinet has approved moratorium/deferment on due payments of spectrum purchased in past auctions (excluding the auction of 2021) for upto four years.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. Prasar Bharati and Sansad TV sign MoU for uplink of ‘Sansad TV’ in HDTV format.

• Prasar Bharati and Sansad TV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the uplink of Sansad TV in HDTV format free of cost in exchange for archival content of LSTV and RSTV.
• Prasar Bharati will also carry Sansad TV-SD (Standard Definition) in its DD Free Dish Platform.
• The decision to merge Lok Sabha TV (LSTV) and Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) channels was taken in February 2021 and the merged entity has been named Sansad TV.
• Sansad TV will be telecast in both HDTV and SDTV formats as Sansad TV-HD (High Definition) and Sansad TV-SD (Standard Definition).
• The teleport facility of Sansad TV can presently uplink only one channel in SDTV format.
• It is being modernized and upgraded to carry one SDTV and one HDTV signal. The upgradation and modernization of the teleport is likely to take six months.
• Sansad TV cannot uplink HDTV signals in C-Band till the upgradation of its teleport facility. Prasar Bharati will help uplinking of Sansad TV HDTV signals.
• Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla have jointly launched Sansad TV on 15 September on the occasion of International Day of Democracy.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Defence Offices Complexes in New Delhi.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Defence Offices Complexes at Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Africa Avenue in New Delhi. He will also interact with officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force.
• More than 7,000 officials of the Defence Ministry and Armed Forces will work in the new Defence Offices Complexes.
• The new Defence Offices Complexes is equipped with modern, secure, and functional working spaces.
• Sustainable construction technology called Light gauge steel frame has been used for constructing this building. It has reduced the construction time from 24 to 30 months.
• An Integrated Command and Control Centre has been established for managing building operations.
• The building will use green technology for energy efficiency and promote environment friendly practices.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. NITI Aayog to launch report on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’.

• NITI Aayog will launch a report on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’ on 17 September 2021.
• The report will be released by the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
• The report comprises recommendations for urban planning such as interventions for planning healthy cities, optimum utilization of urban land, ramping up human-resource capacities, strengthening urban governance.
• In October 2020, NITI Aayog had constituted an advisory Committee on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Education in India’.

Topic: Government Scheme and Initiatives

7. Cabinet approved Production-linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Drone Industries.

• Union Cabinet has approved the Production-linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Drone Industries.
• The Government has allocated 25 thousand 938 crore rupees for the auto sector and 120 crores for Drone Industry.
• It will bring new-age technology in the automobile sector and promote green automotive manufacturing.
• Features of PLI Scheme for Drones:
  • The incentive for a manufacturer of drones and drone components shall be as high as 20% of the value addition.
  • It will cover drone components like Airframe, propulsion systems (engine and electric), power systems, etc.
  • It has been launched for a period of three years.
• Features of PLI Scheme for Auto Industry:
  • It will be applicable for existing automotive companies as well as new investors in the automobile or auto component manufacturing business.
  • It has two components: Champion OEM Incentive Scheme and Component Champion Incentive Scheme.
  • It will bring investment in the auto sector and generate new employment opportunities.

Topic: Important Days

8. International Day for the preservation of the Ozone layer: 16 September

• International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer or World Ozone Day is observed every year on 16 September.
• It is observed to remind the importance of the ozone layer for survival on Earth. The ozone layer protects the earth from the harmful rays of the Sun.
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted 16 September as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer in 1994.
• The theme for World Ozone Day this year is “Montreal Protocol – keeping us, our food and vaccines cool”.
• It is also observed to mark the anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.
• Under the Montreal Protocol convention, 99% of the Ozone Depleting Substances have been phased out. The depletion of the ozone layer can cause skin cancer in humans and the destruction of the ecosystem.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. “Rajbhasha Keerthi Puraskar” award conferred to National Mineral Development Ltd (NMDC).

• The prestigious “Rajbhasha Keerthi Puraskar” award has been conferred to National Mineral Development Ltd (NMDC).
• National Mineral Development Ltd. (NMDC) received the prize in the category of Undertakings situated in the “C” region for the year 2019-20. NMDC has been winning this accolade for the last three years.
• For the year 2020-21, Visakhapatnam Steel plant received the ‘Rajbhasha Keerti Puraskar’-FIRST PRIZE for effective implementation of Official Language Hindi.
• On the occasion of National Hindi Day, this award was presented by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai.

Topic: National News

10. IIT Bombay launches Project Udaan, a language translator.

• IIT Bombay launched ‘Project Udaan’ for translating textbooks and learning materials content from English to Hindi and all other Indian languages.
• Project Udaan uses an AI-based translation software ecosystem that can translate content in one-sixth of the time taken by a linguistic expert.
• This project has been developed by Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan and his team.
• This project has been developed in line with the New Education Policy, which promotes higher education in vernacular language.
• This project aims to translate 500 engineering texts in Hindi in one year and in 15 Indian languages in 3 years.

Topic: Reports and Indices

11. NCRB report shows increase of 28% in registration of cases in 2020 compared to 2019. 

• NCRB report has shown an increase of 14,45,127 (28%) in registration of cases in 2020 compared to 2019 (51,56,158 cases).
• The rise in cases is primarily due to violations of COVID norms across the country.
• As per the NCRB report, an almost 21-fold increase was recorded in cases of disobedience to the order duly promulgated by a public servant (Sec. 188 IPC).
• Over four times increase was recorded in cases involving violations of other State local laws.
• The report says total 50,291 cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes were registered. Cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes showed an increase of 9.4% over 2019 (45,961 cases).
• Among the cases against Scheduled Castes, simple hurt has formed the biggest portion. It accounted for 32.9% (16,543) of the total cases.
• Total 8,272 cases were registered for offences against Scheduled Tribes. This is an increase of 9.3% over 2019. Among these cases, simple hurt (2,247) accounted for 27.2%.
• The cases of sedition decreased from 93 in 2019 to 73 last year. The report says the crime rate registered per lakh population has increased from 385.5 in 2019 to 487.8 in 2020.
• Offences affecting the human body accounted for 24.6% of the total IPC crimes during 2020.
• Out of these, hurt accounted for the maximum cases (55.3%), followed by cases of causing death by negligence (12.1%) and cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (8.2%).
• The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 56.5 in 2020 in comparison with 62.3 in 2019. There was an 8.30% decline in cases of crime against women.
• A large number of the cases were related to “cruelty by husband or his relatives” (30.0%), followed by “assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty” (23.0%), “kidnapping & abduction of women” (16.8%) and “rape” (7.5%).
• There was a decline of 27% in cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, cybercrimes recorded an 11.80% increase. Human trafficking cases declined.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

12. MoU for enhancing export potential of Ayurvedic and other Indian traditional medicine products signed between India and USA.

• MoU for enhancing export potential of Ayurvedic and other Indian traditional medicine products has been signed between India and USA.
• Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, USA, has signed this MoU on September 13, 2021.
• The MoU aims to strengthen the promotion and development of standards in the field of Ayurveda and other Indian Traditional systems of medicine between two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
• Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy is a subordinate office under the Ministry of AYUSH.
• It was established as Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine in August 2010.

Topic: Defence

13. Indian military contingent participated in Exercise SCO Peaceful Mission 2021.

• Indian military contingent participated in 6^th edition of Exercise Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peaceful Mission 2021 at Orenburg, Russia.
• 6^th edition of Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION is being hosted by Russia in the Orenburg Region of South West Russia from 13 to 25 September 2021.
• The exercise aims to foster close relations between SCO member states and to enhance the abilities of the military leaders to command multi-national military contingents.
• It will enable sharing of best practices between the Armed Forces of SCO nations.
• The Indian military contingent comprising of an all arms combined force of 200 personnel is participating in the Exercise.
• Joint Counter Terrorism Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION is a Multilateral Exercise. It is conducted biennially as part of military diplomacy between Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.