Daily Current Affairs and GK | 21 May 2021

Topic: Defence

1. INS Rajput to be decommissioned on May 21.

• The first destroyer of the Indian Navy, INS Rajput, will be decommissioned on May 21. It was commissioned on 04 May 1980.
• After rendering service for 41 years, it will be decommissioned at the Naval Dockyard of Visakhapatnam.
• INS Rajput was built by Russia in the 61 Communards Shipyard. Its Original Russian name was ‘Nadezhny’.
• INS Rajput served for both Western and Eastern Fleets and its first commanding officer was Capt Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani.
• It is the first Indian Naval Ship to be associated with an Indian Army regiment – the Rajput Regiment.
• It participated in many operations including Operation Aman, Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, etc.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

2. US Congress passes Anti-Asian hate crimes bill.

• The United States parliament has passed the Covid-19 Hate Crimes bill. It was introduced by Grace Meng and Mazie Hirono.
• The bill has been approved to combat the hate crimes against Asians during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Last year, the cases against racially motivated crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had increased. Around 3,795 incidents of hate crimes were reported between March 2020 and February 2021.
• The bill proposes to create a new position at the Justice Department to review the Covid-19-related hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
• The law also directs departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to spread awareness against hate crimes across the country.

Topic: Important Days

3. International Tea Day is celebrated each year on 21 May.

• 21 May was celebrated as International Tea Day for the first time in 2020.
• International Tea Day aims to raise awareness about history and cultural and economic significance of tea all over the world.
• Tea is a beverage. It is made from Camellia sinesis plant. After water, tea is the most consumed drink in the world.
• It is believed to be originated from northeast India, north Myanmar and southwest China.
• Four tea cultivation sites designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are located in China, Korea and Japan.
• Tea processing and production contribute to four Sustainable Development Goals given below:
  • Reduction of extreme poverty (Goal 1)
  • Fight against hunger (Goal 2)
  • Empowerment of women (Goal 5)
  • Sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems (Goal 15)

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

4. ICMR gives approval to CoviSelf kit for home testing.

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given approval to the CoviSelf kit for home testing of symptomatic patients.
• ICMR has issued an advisory for COVID-19 home testing. In the advisory, ICMR said that users would be required to download My lab app on their mobile phones.
• My lab app provides a comprehensive guide to the testing procedure. It will provide positive or negative test results to the patient.
• ICMR said that only a nasal swab would be needed for this Rapid Antigen Testing.  
• All users will be required to click the picture of the test strip after completing the test procedure.
• The picture should be clicked with the same mobile phone which has been used for downloading the mobile app and user registration.

Topic: Important Days

5. 12^th Annual Day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) commemorated on 20 May.

• 12^th Annual Day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) was virtually commemorated on 20 May.
• Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addressed different invitees in the inaugural session of the event to commemorate 12^th Annual Day of CCI.
• On occasion, she released the ‘CCI Journal on Competition Law and Policy’.
• It was established under the Competition Commission Act, 2002, but it became fully functional in May 2009.

Topic: Important Days

6. World Bee Day is observed on 20 May.

• World Bee Day is observed on 20 May. It is the day on which Anton Jansa was born.
• Its purpose is to acknowledge the role bees and other pollinators play in the ecosystem. Anton Jansa is known as the pioneer of beekeeping.
• World Bee Day 2021 is the fourth World Bee Day. 20^th May was proclaimed as World Bee Day in 2017.
• On World Bee Day 2021, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized a virtual event under the theme “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. India’s rank on EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) moves up a place to 3^rd position.

• India’s rank on 57^th EY Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) has moved up a place to 3^rd position.
• US and China respectively occupy first and second positions on EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index.
• India was ranked 4^th place in the previous ranking. India’s good performance on the index is due to its exceptional performance on the solar photovoltaic front.
• Installed solar PV capacity in India has increased to 39 GW. Installed solar PV capacity in India has overtaken the wind capacity for the first time.
• As per the report, India’s solar sector will grow substantially after Covid-19 pandemic. 
• As per EY (Ernst & Young), global renewable energy capacity investments increased 2% to $303.5 billion.
• EY (Ernst & Young) is a multinational professional services network with headquarters in London. It is one of the big four accounting firms. It mainly provides consulting and advisory services.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. India and Oman renew MoUs on military cooperation and maritime issues.

• The Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on military cooperation and maritime issues have been renewed between India and Oman.
• The MoUs were signed between the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense of Oman and Ambassador of India to Oman.
• The military cooperation MoU was signed at Muscat and MoU on cooperation on maritime issues was signed at the Maritime Security Centre.

Topic: Art and Culture

9. Six Indian places added to tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

• Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel announced that Six Indian sites had been added to the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.
• The nomination of these sites was proposed by the Archaeological Survey of India.
• The six sites are as follows:

• As of now, India has 48 sites in the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.
• According to operation guidelines, it is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) before final nomination.

(Source: Ministry of Culture)

Topic: Important Days

10. Anti-Terrorism Day: 21 May

• Every year Anti-Terrorism Day is observed in India on 21 May.
• The day is celebrated to spread the message of peace and humanity and to promote unity among the people.
• Apart from this, it is also observed as the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
• It was proposed by the V P Singh government after the assassination of India’s Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
• As per the latest Global Terrorism (GTI) 2020 report, South Asia is the most impacted region by terrorism in the world.
• Around 65 terrorist groups are active in India with different agendas.

Topic: Appointments

11. Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as Chief Minister of Kerala.

• Pinarayi Vijayan becomes the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second successive time.
• According to Article 164 of the Indian constitution, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor and the other ministers are appointed on the advice of the Chief Minister.
• Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office to Pinarayi Vijayan.
• Pinarayi Vijayan is the first Chief Minister of Kerala to be appointed for the second consecutive term.
• Pinarayi Vijayan will head the 21 member’s cabinet, which includes three women.
• Kerala Legislative Assembly has a strength of 140 members. In the recently held election, CPI (M) has won 99 seats while INC has won 41 seats.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

12. Winners of the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize are declared.

• Chemists Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman were declared winners of the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize.
• They got this award for the development of the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) techniques. It will help in determining the DNA sequence in less time.
• The main aim of this prize is to promote technological research and innovation for a better life.
• In 2004, Tim Berners-Lee received the first Millennium Technology Prize for the discovery of World Wide Web.
• Millennium Technology Prize:
  • It a prestigious science and technology prize.
  • It is awarded by Technology Academy Finland (TAF).
  • 1 million Euro is awarded as Prize money.