Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 November 2021

Topic: Space and IT

1. SpaceX sets up its subsidiary in India.

• Elon Musk-owned SpaceX established its wholly-owned subsidiary in India to start local broadband operations.
• SpaceX's satellite broadband arm Starlink is planning to launch its broadband service in India from December 2022.
• SpaceX's subsidiary in India named SSCPL - Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited has been established on 1 November.
• Starlink claims to have received more than 5,000 pre-order from India. It will provide internet in the range between 50 to 150 megabit per second.
• The company is planning to provide broadband service in rural areas.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. Indian Informal economy came down to 15-20% from 52%: SBI Report

• According to a report of SBI, India’s informal economy has shrunk to around 15-20 percent of the formal GDP.
• Around Rs 13 lakh crore has come into the formal economy through various channels over the last few years.
• Digitization of the economy and the emergence of the gig economy have accelerated the rate of formalization of the Indian Economy.
• In the last couple of years, the government has made many efforts for formalization of economy.
• India’s first national database of unorganised workers ‘E-Sharam Portal’ is playing an important role in the formalization of the economy.
• According to the SBI report, workers from the agriculture sector account for 55% of registration in E-sharam Portal.
• Hotels, transport, communication, construction, agriculture, and broadcasting sectors are the main informal sectors of India.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

3. Punjab to begin Census of Indus River Dolphin.

• The Punjab Government is set to start the Census of Indus River dolphin.
• The census of Indus River Dolphin will commence in the winter as part of a project by the Centre. The census project will be completed in five years.
• Indus River Dolphin is one of the world’s most threatened species. The Indus river dolphin is classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Topic: Personality in News

 4. Actor Puneeth Rajkumar passed away due to cardiac arrest.

• Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar passed away due to cardiac arrest. He collapsed while working out in his gym.
• Puneeth Rajkumar was Popularly known as the Powerstar.
• He was awarded the Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu.
• According to the data, Indians are more prone to heart attacks as compared to others around the world.
• According to the 2019 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the number of deaths due to heart attack increased between 2014-2019 by 53%.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

5. Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) launched by PM Modi.

• Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) has been launched by PM Modi on the sidelines of the climate summit in Glasgow.
• IRIS is aimed at succeeding in reaching sustainable development through a systematic approach to resilient, sustainable and inclusive infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
• PM Modi also said that ISRO will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States to provide them timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring and coast-line monitoring.
• IRIS launch event was hosted by Australia and UK. Leaders of Small Island Developing States including Fiji, Jamaica and Mauritius also took part in the event.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

6. ‘Ayushmaan CAPF’ Scheme health cards launched by Home Minister Amit Shah.

• ‘Ayushmaan CAPF’ Scheme health cards have been launched by Home Minister Amit Shah at national level on 02 November.
• 'Ayushman CAPF' scheme has been designed to cover all serving personnel and their dependents of the seven Central Armed Police Forces.
• The health card distribution will be undertaken in all CAPFs. The distribution of about 35 lakh cards will be completed by December 2021.
• ‘Ayushmaan CAPF’ Scheme had been launched by Home Minister on a pilot basis in the State of Assam on 23rd January 2021.
• It had been launched to provide health care services to all Central Armed Police Force (CAPFs) personnel and their dependents.
• The scheme is a joint initiative of the Home Ministry, Health Ministry and National Health Authority (NHA).

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

7. Defence Ministry approves Procurement of Arms, Military Equipment worth ₹ 7,965 Crore.

• The Defence Ministry approved the procurement of arms and military equipment worth ₹ 7,965-crore.
• The procurement proposals were approved at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
• Defence Ministry approved procurement of 12 light utility helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Lynx U2 naval gunfire control system from Bharat Electronics Limited.
• Defence Acquisition Council has also approved "mid-life upgradation of Dornier aircraft" by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It will increase the naval capacity.
• All these procurements will be done under the ''Make in India'' initiative with a focus on the design, development, and manufacturing of defence equipment.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. NITI Aayog and World Bank join hands for making financing of electric vehicles easier.

• NITI Aayog has joined hands with the World Bank to facilitate faster and more convenient finance for electric vehicles.
• Both entities are setting up a $300-million ‘first loss risk sharing instrument’, with the State Bank of India (SBI).
• This facility will bring around $1.5 billion finance for EVs. The instrument would act as a hedging mechanism for banks.
• It will bring down the cost of financing for EVs by 10-12%. At present, the rate of interest for electric two-wheelers & electric 3 Wheelers is in the range of 20-25%.
• NBFCs such as Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF) and L&T Finance have tied up with many EV makers to offer loans.
• According to experts, Consumers are choosing cleaner and greener mobility due to the rise in fuel prices.

Topic: Sports

9. Akash Kumar ensures India’s first medal at the World Boxing Championships.

• Akash Kumar ensures India’s first medal at the World Boxing Championships by defeating the Rio Olympics bronze medallist Yoel Finol in the quarter-finals.
• He became only the seventh Indian to win a world championship medal.
• In the previous edition, India had won a silver and bronze medal in the World Boxing Championships.
• The gold medalist of this championship will get a prize money of USD 100,000. India is being represented by its reigning national champions across weight categories.
• The 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships are being held in Belgrade, Serbia from 25 October to 6 November.

Topic: Books and Authors

10. Amit Ranjan authored a book titled "John Lang: Wanderer of Hindoostan, Slanderer of Hindoostanee, Lawyer for the Ranee".

• Amit Ranjan has written a book titled "John Lang: Wanderer of Hindoostan, Slanderer of Hindoostanee, Lawyer for the Ranee".
• This book will be published by Niyogi Books' Paper Missile imprint.
• John Lang was an Australian writer-lawyer settled in India. He fought many cases including Rani Laxmibai’s legal battle case against the annexation of her kingdom.
• This book is about Lang's life, his exploits, and his literary works.
• Rani Laxmibai had employed him because of his fame amongst the Indians but he lost the case quickly.
• He had fought many cases against the British and won few famous cases against the East India Company.

Topic: National News

11. IREDA launched a ‘whistle-blower Portal’ as part of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’.

• The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has launched a whistle-blower Portal’ as part of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’.
• The portal has been launched by Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), IREDA.
• This portal has been developed by the IT team of the IREDA.
• IREDA employees can raise concerns related to fraud, corruption, abuse of power, etc. through this portal.
• The whistle-blower portal is a part of IREDA’s “zero tolerance" campaign against corruption. The latest issue of Vigilance journal ‘Pahal’ was also released by IREDA on this occasion.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

12. UNEP and European Commission have launched an observatory for action against methane emissions.

• The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the European Commission have jointly launched an observatory to reduce emissions of methane gas into the atmosphere.
• The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) was launched at the G20 Summit by UNEP with support from the European Union.
• IMEO will monitor methane emissions via satellite.
• The IMEO will mainly integrate data from four streams:
  • Direct measurement data from scientific studies
  • Remote sensing data
  • National inventories
  • Reporting from the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0  (OGMP 2.0)
• European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, methane is one of the most dangerous gases for our climate and it is important to reduce methane emissions to keep our climate targets in reach.
• As per the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to 1.5 °C must go hand-in-hand with the reduction of methane to decarbonize the energy system.
• The objective of launching the observatory is to help improve accuracy and transparency in reporting the amount of methane release into the atmosphere and its impact on global warming.
• The International Methane Emissions Observatory, hosted by UNEP, will operate on a budget of 100 million euros (about $115.6 million) over five years.

Topic: National News

13. ISRO will provide a solar energy calculator application to the world, which can measure the solar power potential of any region.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said at global COP-26 Summit that Indian Space Research Organisation- ISRO will soon provide a solar power calculator application to the world that can measure solar energy potential of any region across the globe.
• Solar power potential of any place in the world can be calculated through this calculator based on satellite data.
• This application will be useful in deciding the location of solar projects and will strengthen 'One Sun, One World and One Grid' initiative, Modi said.
• Solar energy is completely clean and sustainable and the challenge is that this energy is available only during the day and depends on the weather.
• 'One Sun, One World and One Grid' solves this problem and clean energy can be transmitted anywhere and anytime through a worldwide grid.
• Modi said that using fossil fuels has made some countries prosperous, but it has made the earth and environment bad and today technology has given us a great alternative in the form of Solar energy.