Daily Current Affairs and GK | 23 April 2021

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. Priyanka Mohite becomes first Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna.

• Priyanka Mohite has become the first Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna.
• Priyanka Mohite had climbed Mt Everest in 2013 at the age of 21. She is the third youngest Indian to reach at the peak of Mt Everest.
• She has also climbed Mount Lhotse (8,516 metres) in 2018, Mount Makalu (8,485 metres), and also Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) in 2016.
• She became the first Indian woman to climb Mt Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world.
• Mt Annapurna is the 10^th highest mountain in the world. It has a height of 8091 meters. It is located in Nepal.

Topic: National News

2. Comptroller and Auditor General GC Murmu selected as external auditor for OPCW.

• The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has selected the GC Murmu as its external auditor. GC Murmu is the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
• He has been selected through an election process at the OPCW conference. He will start his three-year tenure from 2021.
• India is also selected as a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW for another two-year term.
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW):
  • It is an intergovernmental organization, the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention.
  • It was founded on 29 April 1997.
  • Its headquarters is located in The Hague, Netherlands.
  • Its Director-General is Fernando Arias.
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG):
  • It is an independent authority established under Article 148 of the Indian Constitution.
  • He is appointed by the President of India.
  • He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.

Topic: Space and IT

3. Russia will launch its own Space station by 2025.

• Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced that it will launch its own orbital station in 2025.
• Russia has decided to leave the International Space Station programme. It was part of this programme since 1998.
• Russia’s own orbital station will add a new chapter in the space exploration programme but it will end the cooperation between Russia and the United States on the International Space station programme.
• Recently, Russia has celebrated the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin going into space.
• International Space Station:
  • It is a habitable artificial satellite in the lower Earth Orbit.
  • It is a collaborative project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Europe.
  • It works as a space environment research laboratory.
  • The first ISS module was launched in 1998.

Topic: New Developments

4. IIT Kharagpur launched COVIRAP diagnostic technology.

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has successfully launched its health care product ' ‘COVIRAP' on the commercial basis. It will help in the diagnosis of infectious diseases including Covid-19.
• It is developed by Professor Suman Chakraborty, Dr. Arindam Mondal, and their research group.
• Bramerton Holdings has signed a deal for the commercialization of the COVIRAP technology.
• Through this technology, the result would be available in 45 minutes after collecting the sample from a patient.
• The whole process from sample collection to result can be conducted through the portable device at anywhere.
• It will help in resolving the many problems like poor performance, affordability, home-based testing, etc.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. India got 87th rank in the global energy transition index 2021.

• India has been ranked at the 87th position among 115 countries in the Energy Transition Index. India was on 74th place in the Global Energy Transition Index 2020.
• The global energy transition index gives ranking to countries based on the performance of their energy systems.
• Sweden is on the top position in the global energy transition index 2021, it is followed by Norway and Denmark.
• Among the world’s ten largest economies, only the United Kingdom and France are in the top 10.
• According to this year’s Index, Global average ETI scores have increased in 8 out of the last 10 years and 92 out of 115 countries have improved their score over the last 10 years.
• China (68) and India (87) have improved their score significantly over the last decade.
• The global energy transition index is being released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Topic: International News

6. USCIRF recommended India to be designated as ‘countries of particular concern’.

• The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended to keep India on a list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ for violations of religious freedom.
• The USCISRF recommended the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian individuals and entities for violations of religious freedom.
• USCISRF recommends that state administration should designate 14 countries in the list of “countries of particular concern (CPCs). Russia, Syria, India, and Vietnam are added to the CPC list of 2021.
• Citizenship Amendment Act, Attack on Muslims in Delhi’s riots, and exclusion of people from National Register of Citizens are the major concern in the 2021 report.
• United States Commission on International Religious Freedom:
  • It is a U.S. federal government commission.
  • It monitors religious freedom violations globally.
  • Its recommendation is not legally binding to the United States President.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

7. Myanmar Army Chief will attend ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.

• The head of Myanmar’s military government, General Min Aung Hlaing, will attend the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia. It will be his first foreign trip after the coup.
• All leaders of ASEAN will take part in this meeting. The main objective of the meeting is to discuss the crisis that emerged after the military takeover of the government on February 1 in Myanmar.
• It is the first concerted international effort to resolve the crisis. More than 739 protestors have been killed after the coup.
• UN Special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener will also take part in this meeting.
• On 1 February, the Military imposed an emergency in Myanmar and detained many leaders, including President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi.
• Myanmar:
  • It is a Southeast Asian country that shares its border with China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Laos.
  • It shares a 1600 km long boundary with India’s Four North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
  • Its capital is Naypyidaw and the currency is Burmese Kyat.

Topic: Banking System

8.  Mastercard and BOB Financial launched ‘ConQR’ to simplify digital payments.

• Mastercard and BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) have launched ConQR – a Mastercard QR on Card solution to simplify digital payments.
• The payment solution will enable cardholders to accept cashless payments using their card. It will make online payments more flexible and to receive payments cardholders do not have to give personal information.
• It will help in reducing the operational cost and will increase the revenue for banks from online payments.
• Small businesses can use this QR for doing and receiving cashless payments. The ConQR Credit Card will have a Bharat QR Code on the card face.
• Mastercard is an American multinational financial services corporation. Michael Miebach is its CEO.
• BOB Financial Solutions Ltd (BFSL) is an NBFC earlier known as Bobcards Limited.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

9. Ola plans to build world’s largest scooter-charging network.

• Ola is planning to build a nationwide charging network for electric scooters. It will be the world’s largest scooter charging network.
• Ola will set up 100,000 high-speed charging points in more than 400 Indian cities in five years. In the first year, Ola will set up 5,000 charging points in 100 cities of India.
• Ola Hypercharger can charge the Ola Scooter up to 50 percent in just 18 minutes. It will be set up in every corner of a city.
• Ola is planning to launch its first electric scooters. It has also announced to establish the world’s largest scooter factory in Tamil Nadu.
• Ola Hypercharger network:
  • Ola along with other partners is creating this network.
  • The home charger of this network will provide the facility of charging at home.
  • It will give a seamless charging facility to Ola scooter customers.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

10. India and the U.S launched "India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.”

• At the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, India and the US launched the "India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.”
• Both India and the United States have set ambitious targets for climate action and clean energy.
• The partnership will help India and the United States in achieving their ambitious climate and clean energy targets. It will also strengthen the collaboration between both countries in the field of climate and clean energy.
• The partnership will help in the mobilizing finance, development of innovative clean technologies, decarbonizing of transportation and power sectors, etc.
• The Strategic Clean Energy Partnership and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue will be the two important pillars of this partnership.
• India has a set target to reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030. India has already achieved 21 % of it and the remaining will be achieved in the next 10 years.
• China, the U.S, and India are the top emitters of CO₂ in the world.