Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 July 2021

Topic: Important Days

1. Pi Approximation Day: 22 July

• Pi Approximation Day is observed every year on July 22 around the globe.
• It is dedicated to the Mathematical Constant Pi.
• It is celebrated on 22 July because the approximation value of Pi is equal to 22/7.
• Pi:
  • It is a mathematical constant. It is represented by the Greek letter π.
  • It was presented by William Jones in 1706
  • It denotes the relationship between the circumference of a circle and its diameter.
  • Pi is also known as the “circular constant”.

Topic: Personality in News

2. Jeff Bezos completed his flight to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft.

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos successfully completed his 10-min flight to space from the New Shepard rocket. The New Shepard rocket of Bezos' space company Blue Origin took off from West Texas.
• He was accompanied by brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and 18-year-old passenger Oliver Daemen.
• It is the first time that a commercial company launched a privately funded and built spacecraft from a private launch range with astronauts.
• At the age of 82, Funk became the oldest person to travel to space and an 18-year-old, Oliver Daemon, became the youngest person to travel to space.
• The travelers experienced three to four minutes of zero-gravity. 
• The New Shepherd rocket is named after the 1961 astronaut Alan Shepherd. Alan Shepherd was the first US citizen to reach space.

Topic: International News

3. Pedro Castillo announced as winner of Peru’s Presidential election.

• Pedro Castillo has been announced as winner of Peru’s Presidential election.
• Castillo defeated right-wing politician Keiko Fujimori by just 44,000 votes.
• Election authorities released the results over a month after the runoff election took place. Runoff election is also known as two-round system or second ballot.
• Castillo has popularized the phrase “No more poor in a rich country.”
• Peru is the world’s second-largest copper producer. Its economy is affected by coronavirus pandemic. The poverty level has increased to almost one-third of the population.
• Peru:
  • It is a country located in western South America. Its capital is Lima. Its currency is Sol.
  • It is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia in north. It is bordered by Brazil in the east and by Bolivia in Southeast. It is bordered by Chile in south.
  • Violeta Bermúdez is its Prime Minister.

Topic: Defence

4. Indigenously developed MPATGM successfully flight-tested by DRDO.

• Indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget Man Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) successfully flight-tested by DRDO.
• The missile is equipped with a state-of-the-art Miniaturized Infrared Imaging Seeker along with advanced avionics.
• The missile was launched from a man portable launcher integrated with a thermal site and the target was mimicking a tank.
• The missile hit the target in direct attack mode and destroyed it with precision. The test has validated the minimum range successfully.
• The Man Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) has already been successfully flight tested for the maximum range.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Art and Culture

5. Liverpool loses UNESCO world heritage site status.

• UNESCO has stripped Liverpool of its prestigious World Heritage status. The UNESCO Committee has found that the city had failed to properly conserve the area.
• UNESCO has removed the city from the list because new developments have taken too much of a toll on its historical fabric. The city was awarded world heritage site status in 2004.
• Liverpool becomes the third site to lose the World Heritage status. Earlier, Dresden's Elbe Valley and Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary were the only sites to lose World Heritage status.
• Liverpool had been one of 53 sites on UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger list. It had been on the endangered list since 2012.
• As of July 2021, there are 1,120 World Heritage Sites (868 cultural, 213 natural, and 39 mixed properties) in 167 countries.
• Liverpool:
  • It is a city in England and is the tenth-largest district by population.
  • It was a pioneer in the development of modern dock technology, transport systems, and port management.

Topic: Sport

6. Brisbane to host 2032 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics.

• The International Olympic Committee announced that the Australian city Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics.
• 2032 Olympic Games will be organized in 37 venues in the Brisbane and southeast Queensland region.
• Australia has previously hosted the Olympic Games in Melbourne and Sydney. Brisbane will host the Olympic game for the first time.
• The venue of the 2032 Olympics has been chosen by the new election method adopted in 2019.

Topic: Defence

7. DRDO successfully test-fires new generation Akash missile.

• A new generation of Akash surface-to-air missile has been successfully flight-tested by the DRDO from the Integrated Test Range off the Odisha coast.
• It has been developed to strengthen the combat capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
• The flight trial has been conducted from a land-based platform with all weapon systems.
• It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in association with other DRDO laboratories.
• The Akash-NG will be used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for intercepting and neutralizing fast and agile aerial threats.
• Some Important Missile of India:

Topic: Sports

8. Mongolia, Tajikistan and Switzerland inducted as new Associate Members of ICC.

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) at its 78^th Annual General Meeting inducted Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Switzerland as its new members.
• Now, ICC comprises 106 members in total, including 94 associates.
• Mongolia and Tajikistan have been inducted as the 22^nd and 23^rd Members from the Asia region while Switzerland has been inducted as 35^th Member from the Europe region.
• The Mongolian Cricket Association (MCA) established in 2007 became the official national administrator of Cricket in 2018.
• In Switzerland, Cricket was first played in 1817. Cricket Switzerland (CS) was inaugurated as an association in 2014.

Topic: Reports and Indices

9. Oxfam India released “Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story”.

• The Oxfam report “Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story” has been released recently.
• According to the report, India’s low spending on public healthcare systems and focus on private healthcare has increased the inequalities in access to healthcare.
• The states with higher expenditure on health had lower cases of Covid-19. Assam, Bihar, and Goa having higher GDP expenditure on health had higher recovery rates of Covid cases.
• The report states that people belonging to lower-income groups face five times more discrimination on being found Covid-positive than higher income groups people.
• Around 50 percent of SC and ST people have found difficulties in accessing non-Covid medical facilities.
• As per the report, one rupee in every Rs 6 spent on hospitalization came through borrowing. Less than one-third of households are covered by the government insurance scheme.
• In India, Out of pocket health expenditure is higher than the world average. India also ranks the lowest in the number of hospital beds per thousand population among the BRICS nations.

Topic: International News

10. Ariel Henry sworn in as new Prime Minister of Haiti.

• Ariel Henry has become the new Prime Minister of Haiti.
• Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated around two weeks ago.
• Moise had asked Henry to take up the role of PM days before he was murdered in the capital Port-au-Prince.
• But, he could not take over the post immediately due to a political tussle with Claude Joseph, Haiti’s interim PM at the time of the attack on President Moise.
• On 19 July, Claude Joseph stepped down and paved way for Henry’s swearing-in and for elections in September 2021.

Topic: Sports

11. Bala Devi named as Women’s Footballer of the Year at annual AIFF awards 2020-21.

• Bala Devi has been named as Women’s Footballer of the Year at the annual AIFF awards 2020-21.
• Manisha Kalyan has won the Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year at the annual AIFF awards 2020-21.
• Bala Devi has received the honour for the third time. She has earlier won it two years in a row in 2014 and 2015.
• She is currently playing for the Rangers Women's FC in Scotland. She is the first Indian woman footballer to sign a professional contract in Europe.
• Manisha Kalyan also received the Emerging Player of the Tournament award at the 2019-20 Hero Indian Women's League.
• Tejas Nagvencar won the award for the Best Referee and Sumanta Dutta won the award for the Best Assistant Referee.
• Sandesh Jhingan has been named as AIFF Men's Footballer of the Year 2020-21. Suresh Singh Wangjam has been named the winner of the AIFF Men's Emerging Footballer of the Year 2020-21 Award.

Topic: National News

12. Gujarat High Court becomes India’s first court to formally start live streaming of proceedings.

• Gujarat High Court has become India’s first court to formally start live streaming of proceedings.
• Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana launched the live streaming of Gujarat High Court proceedings on the eve of the 101^st birth anniversary of former CJI Y.V. Chandrachud.
• Justice Ramana said that live streaming of court proceedings is crucial for the dissemination of information, which is an aspect of Article 19 (right to freedom of speech and expression).
• The High Court has been live-streaming the proceedings on its YouTube channel since October 26, 2020.