Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 and 4 January 2021

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. 51^st International Film Festival of India will start on 16 January 2021.

• The 51^st International Film festival of India will commence on 16^th January 2021.
• It will be organized from 16^th January to 24^th January in Goa in both virtual and physical format.   
• The movies which will be premiered include Wife of a Spy, Mehrunisa, Another Round, etc.
• The 50^th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held in Goa.
• International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was started in 1952. It is organized annually and jointly by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Government of Goa.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Agriculture

2. Area under wheat cultivation increases in MP, Bihar and Maharashtra.

• Area under wheat cultivation has increased in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra.
• Madhya Pradesh planted over an additional 10 lakh hectares (lha) of wheat this season.
• Till now, wheat sowing in India has been 3.63% lha higher than that in the last year. Rajasthan and UP has covered 2.87 lha and 2.1 lha less area till now.
• Area under pulses and oilseeds has been 5% and 6% higher in comparison with same period in 2019-20. This increase is mainly due to increase in area under gram, rapeseed and mustard.
• Area under coarse cereals has declined by nearly 10%. In June 2020, Madhya Pradesh became top stat in the wheat procurement on support price. MP’s wheat procurement was equal to 33% of total wheat procured in India. 
• Madhya Pradesh replaced Punjab as maximum contributor to wheat procurement. However, Punjab still has high per capita productivity than Madhya Pradesh.
• Wheat:
  • It is grown on 13% of the cropped area of India.
  • It is the staple food for the population in north India.
  • India produces 8.7% of the world’s total wheat and is the 4^th largest producer of wheat in the world.
  • Top three wheat producing countries- Russia, USA and China
  • Conditions required for wheat:
    • Temperature: 21-26° C
    • Rainfall: 25-75 cm
    • Soil: Clay loam or Loamy

Topic: International News

3. Iran plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at Fordo Plant.

• Iran has planned to enrich uranium to up to 20% purity at Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant.
• As of now, Iran is enriching uranium up to 4.5%, in violation of the accord’s limit of 3.67%.
• With this, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program will go back to pre-2015 levels. In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the P5 +1 countries (Russia, USA, China, France, UK and Germany).
• Under the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has been prohibited uranium enrichment at the Fordo Plant until 2031.
• Iran also agreed to convert the facility into a nuclear, physics and technology centre.
• Iran made this announcement to the IAEA that it plans to further breach the deal.
• US has withdrawn from the deal in 2018 and reimposed the sanctions against Iran. Therefore, Iran is retaliating by making such moves.
• Uranium enrichment is a process of increasing the percentage of Uranium-235 required to create effective nuclear fuel.

Topic: National News

4. Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation approved emergency use of Covishield and Covaxin vaccine.

• The subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has approved the emergency use of the Covishield and Covaxin vaccine.
• The expert committee comprises of people with different fields such as pulmonology, immunology, microbiology, etc.
• Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has also approved the Phase III trials of vaccine candidate of Cadila Healthcare Ltd.

Drug Controller General of India (DCGI):

• It is a department under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
• It is also responsible for setting the standards for manufacturing, import, sales and distribution of drugs in India.
• It approves licenses of specified categories of drugs, including blood and blood products, vaccines, sera, etc.
• Current DCGI: V G Somani

Topic: Important Days

5. World Braille Day: 4 January

• World Braille Day is observed every year since 2019 to raise awareness regarding the importance of Braille as a means of communication for blind and partially sighted people.
• Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.
• Braille was invented by Louis Braille in 19^th century. It is used by blind and partially sighted people for reading books.

Topic: National News

6. Amit Shah released inaugural issue of the ‘National Police K-9 Journal’.

• Union Home Minister has released the inaugural issue of “National Police K-9 Journal”.
• It is the country’s first journal on the subject of Police Service K9s (PSKs).
• It is a biannual journal that will be released in April and October every year.
• Police dogs can play a vital role in the safety of society.
• The journal will help in the promotion of training and use of dogs in the Police service.
• Police K9 Cell: It was established in 2019 under the Police Modernization Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is a specialized cell of Police Dogs.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

7. United Nations adopted a resolution on Rohingyas.

• United Nations has adopted a resolution on Rohingyas at the 75^th General Assembly. It has been adopted to ensure the safe return of Rohingyas to their home.
• Bangladesh hosted over 1.1 million displaced Rohingyas, so it has demanded a peaceful solution of this crisis.
• The resolution has been passed, with 132 countries voting in favour of it and 9 countries opposed it.
• Bangladesh and Myanmar had signed a deal in 2018 for the safe return of Rohingyas to the Rakhine province.
• The resolution will force Myanmar to take urgent actions to address the issue of Rohingya Muslims and provide them with basic human rights on their return.
• Rohingyas:
  • These are the Muslim minorities that live in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Around 1.1 million Rohingya people live in Myanmar.
  • This ethnic group is considered illegal immigrants and are treated as stateless people and denied citizenship.
  • More than 3,00,000 Rohingya people had fled when violence broke out in the Rakhine state. These people took shelter in Myanmar’s neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and India.

Topic: National News

8. FSSAI reduced the limit of Trans fat levels in foods.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has reduced the limit of trans fat in foods.
• At present, the FSSAI’s limit of trans fat content in fats and oils is 5%. After this notification, the trans-fat limit will be reduced to 3% in 2021 and to 2% by 2022.
• The revised limit will apply to edible refined oils, partially hydrogenated oils, bakery, etc.
• In 2011, the government had reduced the trans fatty acids limits from 10 % to 5 % in oils and fats.
• WHO aimed for the global elimination of trans fats by 2023.
• Trans Fats:
  • These are unsaturated fats produced from vegetable oils.
  • There are two forms of trans fat – natural and artificial trans fats.
  • Artificial trans fats are man-made fats produced through a chemical process called hydrogenation.
  • Naturally-occurring trans fats are found in many animal products.
  • Trans fat increases the risk of a heart attack.

Topic: Appointments

9. Soma Mondal appointed as the new chairman of SAIL.

• Soma Mondal has been appointed as a new chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
• She has taken charge from Anil Kumar Chaudhary.
• She has become the first woman chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
• She has been appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Earlier, she was on the post of Director (Commercial) of SAIL.
• Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL):
  • It was established in 1954.
  • It is the largest steel producing company in India.
  • It is a Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Steel.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

(Source: SAIL)

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. Prasar Bharati’s Digital Channels record 100% growth in 2020.

• The digital channels of Prasar Bharati have recorded 100% growth in 2020.
• Pakistan has the second-highest audience of Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR).
• Prasar Bharati’s mobile app, ‘NewsOnAir,’ has added 2.5 million users and registered 300 million views in 2020.
• Prime Minister’s interactions with school students, Republic Day parade 2020, and video of Shakuntala Devi were the most seen videos of 2020.
• Prasar Bharati has also launched a YouTube channel for Sanskrit language content in 2020.
• Prasar Bharati:
  • It was formed in November 1997.
  • It is India’s largest public broadcasting agency.
  • It works under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Its CEO is Shashi Shekhar Vempati.

(Source: Prasar Bharti)

Topic: Books and Authors

11. Wajahat Habibullah is the author of “My Years with Rajiv: Triumph and Tragedy”.

• Wajahat Habibullah has penned a book, “My Years with Rajiv: Triumph and Tragedy”.
• He has also mentioned the Babri Masjid issue, the Bofors, LTTE insurgency and the Shah Bano case in this book.
• He has also written about the efforts of the Rajiv Gandhi government in dealing with Pakistan.
• In this book, he has written about the achievements of Rajiv Gandhi including reforms in education, Technology Missions, economic reforms, Punjab, Assam and Mizoram accords, etc.

(Source: The Hindu)

Topic: Personality in News

12. Former Home Minister Buta Singh passed away at the age of 86.

• The former Home Minister, Buta Singh, has died at the age of 86 years.
• He had served as a minister with four Prime Minister.
• He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 from Moga, Punjab.
• He will be remembered as a Home Minister, which has allowed the shilanyas of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya in 1989.
• He had played a controversial role as Governor of Bihar after the Bihar Assembly elections of 2005.
• He had also headed the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

(Source: News on AIR)