Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 August 2021

Topic: State News/Ladakh

1. Ladakh gets its first mobile digital movie theatre at an altitude of 11,562 feet.

• Ladakh has got its first mobile digital movie theatre at an altitude of 11,562 feet.
• This theatre in the Paldan area of Leh in Ladakh is the highest theatre in the world.
• It was introduced to bring cinema watching experience to most remote areas. It can operate in minus 28 degree Celsius.
• Sushil Chaudhary, Founder and CEO of Picturetime, said that there would be four such theatres established in Leh.
• The critically acclaimed short movie, Sekool was screened at the launch. Sekool is based on the Changpa nomads of Ladakh. Bollywood movie Bell bottom was also screened for the army in the evening.
• Recently, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the world’s highest motorable road in Eastern Ladakh.

Topic: International News

2. China, Pakistan, Thailand and Mongolia to participate in first multinational peacekeeping live exercise “Shared Destiny-2021”.

• China, Pakistan, Thailand and Mongolia will participate in the first multinational peacekeeping live exercise “Shared Destiny-2021”.
• The exercise will be held at the combined-arms tactical training base of the PLA in Henan's Queshan County from September 6 to 15.
• The exercise will be organized by the People's Liberation Army of China. All four countries will send more than 1,000 troops to take part in the exercise.
• In the exercise, drills of battlefield reconnaissance, security guarding and patrol, armed escort, protection of civilians, etc. will be conducted for the purpose of responding to the UN's “Action for Peacekeeping” initiative.

Topic: Sports

3. Sumit Antil wins Gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw F64 event at Tokyo Paralympics.

• Sumit Antil has won Gold in Men’s Javelin Throw F64 event at Tokyo Paralympics.
• This was second gold medal for India at Tokyo Paralympics. Avani Lekhara has earlier won first Gold medal in Women’s 10 metre Air Rifle Shooting at Tokyo Paralympics.
• Sumit made a new world record with the best throw of 68.55 metres in the final.
• President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Sumit Antil for winning the gold and setting a new world record.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Gujarat

4. A ‘Laddu Distribution Scheme’ for pregnant women launched by Amit Shah in his Parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.

• A ‘Laddu Distribution Scheme’ for pregnant women has been launched by Union Home Minister, Amit Shah in his Parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.
• Around 7,000 expecting women in Gandhinagar will be provided 15 nutritious laddus each, free of cost, every month through NGOs till the birth of their child.
• He said that there will be no expenditure by the Government as NGOs will borne responsibility for this.
• Poshan Abhiyan was launched by the Prime Minister on 8th March, 2018 from Jhunjhnu in Rajasthan to spread awareness about issues related to malnutrition.
• Union Home Minister said that a number of nutrition-related programmes have been started by Centre and the State Government.
• He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, started in 2016, around three crore women had undergone pre-natal tests.

Topic: Miscellaneous

5. Prime Minister dedicates renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh Smarak to nation.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar. He also inaugurated museum galleries developed at the Smarak.
• On 13 April 1961, the Jallianwala Bagh complex was first inaugurated by then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad. It is dedicated to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• On April 13, 1919, British officer General Dyer ordered his troops to fire on the crowd gathered to lodge a protest against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlu and Satya Pal at Jallianwala Bagh.
• The government had allocated Rs 20 crore for the restoration and conservation work of the park in 2019.
• In this renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex, a salvation ground has been built for visitors to sit in silence to honour the martyrs. The famous ‘Shahidi Khu’ or Martyrs Well has been now enclosed in a glass shield.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Agriculture

6. First-ever consignment of Ladakhi Apricot exported to Dubai.

• On 29th August 2021, a consignment of 150 Kg Ladakhi Apricot has been exported from TFC Kargil to Dubai.
• Krishak Agritech is working with farmers for promoting Ladakhi apricots. It has promoted the fruit not only to the Indian market but also to the international market.
• Apricot is the primary cash crop for the farmers of Kargil and had never been exported to any country. It has been identified as the primary crop for Kargil under the ODOC programme.
• The export of Apricot will increase farmer’s income and it will generate employment in the region.

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

7. Maharashtra becomes first state with most number of fully vaccinated citizens.

• Maharashtra has become the first state with the most number of fully vaccinated citizens.
• Around 4 crore people have received the first dose and 1.5 crore people have received the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
• Maharashtra is focusing on giving more number of second doses. Mumbai is leading with more than 25 lakh fully vaccinated people while Pune is in the second place.
• Maharashtra was the first state in the country to administer 5 million doses.
• Maharashtra was the first state in the country to fully vaccinate over one crore people against Covid-19.

Topic: Important days

8. National Small Industry Day: 30 August

• Every year National small industry day is celebrated on 30 August. It is observed to commemorate the contribution of small-scale industry in India’s growth.
• It is observed to promote and support small-scale industries for growth and employment generation.
• The UN General Assembly had adopted June 27 as the MSME Day to support small-scale industries.
• In 2007, the Ministry of Small-Scale Industries and the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries were merged to form the Ministry of MSME.
• MSME nearly contributes 30 percent to India’s GDP. It is one of the largest employment generators and the backbone of Indian economy.
• Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of MSMEs, it is followed by West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Topic: Banking System

9. RBI increased the Indo-Nepal remittance transaction cap to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 50,000.

• Reserve Bank of India has increased the ceiling on remittances per transaction from India to Nepal to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 50,000.
• Reserve Bank of India has also removed the limit of 12 remittances in a year per remitter.
• The increase in the Indo-Nepal remittance transaction cap will boost the trade payments between the two countries.
• In 2008, the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme was launched by the Reserve Bank of India as an option for cross-border remittances between India and Nepal.
• Under this facility, the beneficiary receives funds in Nepalese Rupees. The new guidelines would become effective from 1 October 2021.
• The scheme leverages the NEFT ecosystem available in the country for the origination of such remittances.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Income Tax Department released new rules for withdrawal of retro tax demands.

• The Income tax department has released the draft rules for the withdrawal of retro tax demands. The draft rules will amend the Income-tax Rules, 1962.
• The government had passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act 2021 earlier in this month stating that no tax demand shall be raised for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012.
• The Income tax department had used retro tax demands rule against companies such as Cairn Energy and Vodafone PLC. It had been used to levy a cumulative of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of taxes on 17 entities.
• Now, the amount paid/collected in these cases will be refunded to entities without any interest.
• Earlier, Cairn and Vodafone had challenged the retro tax demand before international arbitration panels.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

11. India’s first green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing unit established in Bengaluru.

• US-based renewable energy company Ohmium International has set up India’s first green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing unit in Bengaluru.
• It has a capacity of manufacturing approximately 0.5 GW per year.  India produces about 6 MT blue hydrogen.
• Green hydrogen is made from non-fossil sources while blue hydrogen is created from fossil sources.
• To produce green hydrogen, electrolysis is required. Electrolysis is a method used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
• Electrolyser is the system in which electrolysis is performed. It makes green hydrogen cheap.
• The electrolyser manufacturing unit will reduce dependency on imports and help India in becoming a pioneer in the production of Green Hydrogen.