Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 June 2021

Topic: National News

1. Government will release ‘green tariff’ policy.

• The Union government is working on a ‘green tariff’ policy.
• The government will release guidelines for power distribution companies to sell renewable energy at a green tariff.
• The green tariff will be cheaper than the other energies. It will be the weighted average tariff of green energy.
• If an Industry wants only green energy then power distribution companies will supply energy to willing industries at green tariff.
• Open access applications will be approved within 15 days. Open access allows users consuming energy over 1-megawatt power to buy energy from the open market.
• The government is also planning to bring green Hydrogen within the ambit of renewable purchase obligations (RPO).

Topic: National News

2. Andhra Pradesh tops new job creation under IBPS scheme.

• Andhra Pradesh has generated the highest number of jobs under the India Business Process Outsourcing Promotion Scheme (IBPS).
• Tamil Nadu is on the second position to generate jobs under this scheme.
• Andhra Pradesh has generated 12,234 new jobs while Tamil Nadu has generated 9,401 new jobs.
• At present, 252 BPO/ITeS units are operational under this scheme. The new guidelines have provided the impetus to the BPO sector during the pandemic.
• The India Business Process Outsourcing Promotion Scheme (IBPS) was launched for the expansion of several IT and BPO companies in tier-II and III cities. It was launched in 2014.
• It is implemented by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Under the scheme, financial assistance of up to 50% of capital expenditure is provided by the government.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

3. Merger of Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC) with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) approved by cabinet.

• Cabinet approved the merger of Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC) with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC).
• Similar functions of both the companies such as warehousing, handling, and transportation will be unified as a result of the merger.
• As a result of the merger, management expenditure of Railside Warehouse Complexes (RWCs) will reduce by Rs 5 crore because of savings in the corporate office rent, salary of employees, and other administrative costs.
• The merger will facilitate the setting up of at least 50 more Railside warehouses.
• Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC) is a Mini-Ratna Category-II Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 in 2007.
• Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) is a Mini-Ratna Category-I CPSE set up in 1957.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Mawya Sudan becomes first woman from J&K to become Indian Air Force’s fighter pilot.

• Mawya Sudan has become the first woman from J&K to become the Indian Air Force’s fighter pilot.
• She belongs to Lamberi village on the Line of Control in the Rajouri district. She is India’s 12^th woman fighter pilot.
• She was inducted as a fighter pilot during the combined graduation parade ceremony in Hyderabad last Saturday.
• Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh Jitarwal, and Bhawana Kanth are the first woman combat pilot of India.

Topic: National News

5. Cabinet approved an agreement between India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for exchange of information related to taxes.

• The Union Cabinet has approved the agreement between India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the exchange of information and assistance related to the collection of taxes.
• According to the agreement representatives of the other country can examine individuals or records for tax purposes.
• The agreement will help in the exchange of information held by the banks and other financial institutions encompassing the information regarding the legal and beneficial ownership. It will help in the fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance practices.
• It will promote tax cooperation between the two countries and assist in the collection of outstanding tax claims.
• Saint Vincent:
  • It is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
  • The capital and major port is Kingstown.
  • It consists of the island of Saint Vincent and the northern Grenadine Islands.
  • It is a member of the commonwealth.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. India has been ranked 31^st in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021.

• India has been ranked 31 out of 46 countries in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021. According to this report, only 38 percent of Indians have trust in news.
• Finland has topped the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021. In Finland, 65% of peoples have trust in the news. The United States is on the last position of this Index.
• It is the 10^th edition of the report. It is based on an online survey of media markets.
• India has been included for the first time in this Digital News Report. Around 73% of Indians use smartphones to access news.
• 82% of Indians access news online through social media, WhatsApp and other online platforms.
• Indian people believe most on the Print media and government broadcasters for the news.
• It has been published by the Reuters Institute for Study of Journalism (RISJ).

Topic: Miscellaneous

7. Jamsetji Tata tops the list of global philanthropists of the century.

• The founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, has topped the EdelGive Hurun’s Philanthropists of the Century. The current value of his donation is around $102.4 billion.
• He is the only Indian in the top 10 list of global philanthropists. Azim Premji, former chairman of Wipro, is in the 12^th position.
• Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates, Henry Wellcome, Howard Hughes, and Warren Buffett are among the top 5 philanthropists of the century.
• Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates are in the second position in the 2021 EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century.
• The ranking has been provided based on the total Philanthropic Value. It is calculated as the value of the assets adjusted for inflation.
• According to the report, the world’s 50 most generous individuals are from five countries. 39 philanthropists of the United States have been included in this list and five have been included from the United Kingdom.

Topic: Sports

8. New Zealand won ICC World Test Championship.

• New Zealand has won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship by defeating India by 8 wickets.
• New Zealand has won the ICC trophy after 21 years. Williamson became the second New Zealand captain to win an ICC trophy.
• New Zealand became Test cricket's first official world champions.
• The final of the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship was played from 18 to 23 June 2021 at Southampton, England.
• ICC World Test Championship started with the 2019 Ashes series.
• New Zealand was awarded a cash prize of 1.6 million USD while India was awarded a cash prize of 800,000 USD.
• Achievements:
  • Kyle Jamieson is adjudged the Player of the Match for his bowling figure of 7/61.
  • India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship.
  • Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne scored the highest run in the World Test Championship.
  • England captain Joe Root has taken the most number of catches.

Topic: International News

9. India launched trilateral partnership for Indo-Pacific stability.

• India launched a trilateral partnership with Italy and Japan for the security, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region. It has been launched in a virtual meeting of representatives of these three countries.
• It has been launched to establish stability and a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The main aim of this partnership is to ensure an open, balanced, and stable trade ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific region, which can bolster trade and investment.
• India has signed similar trilateral agreements with other countries. In 2020, India-France-Australia has also initiated a trilateral partnership for stability in the Indo-pacific region.
• India-centric EU strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-pacific will play a vital role in the field of energy transition, connectivity, infrastructure, and digitalization.
• 50% of global trade is done through the India-Pacific region and it is home to 64% of the world’s population.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. 9^th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable to be hosted by India.

• 9^th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable will be hosted by India next year.
• Its dates will be announced later. It will take forward the understandings reached in the last meeting in Abu Dhabi during 2019.
• The 2019 meeting was co-hosted by India. It focused on global energy security in the age of change.
• A virtual meeting between International Energy Forum Secretary-General Joseph McMonigle and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was held and India agreed to host 9^th roundtable.
• International Energy Forum (IEF):
  • It is the world's largest energy organization. It has 71 member countries. It accounts for 90 % of the global energy market.
  • It is an inter-governmental, non-profit international organization. It was established in 1991. It is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Topic: Agriculture

11. World’s first genetically modified rubber planted on outskirts of Guwahati, Assam.

• World’s first genetically modified rubber was planted on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam.
• Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) has developed it. It is the first of its kind developed exclusively for the northeast.
• It will grow well in the climatic condition of the northeast region.
• Rubber Board chairman and executive director KN Raghavan planted a sapling at the board’s farm in Sarutari near Guwahati.
• The plant has an additional copy of gene MnSOD (manganese containing superoxide dismutase) in it.
• Natural rubber is a native plant of warm humid Amazon forests. It is not naturally suited for cold conditions in the northeast. The GM plant will tide over severe cold conditions during winters in the northeast.
• Commercial planting of GM plants will be taken up later. It will depend on the results of the experiment.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

12. The proposal to extend the PMGKAY by five more months has been approved.

• Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to provide free ration to over 80 crore people by five more months till November-end.
• In his address to the nation, PM Modi had earlier announced that PMGKAY will be extended for five months till Diwali.
• This is the fourth edition of PMGKAY (PMGKAY-IV), a food security welfare scheme announced by the government in March 2020.
• PMGKAY was reintroduced for two months till June 2021. Under PMGKAY, Five-kilo foodgrains per person per month are provided free of cost to 81.35 crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• This is over and above the distribution of monthly subsidized foodgrains of 5 kg per person given at Rs 1-3 per kg via ration shops to poor beneficiaries covered under the NFSA.
• Under the PMGKAY, the central government bears the entire expenditure without any contribution by states. Ministry of Food will decide on the allocation of wheat and rice.