Daily Current Affairs and GK | 4 and 5 July 2021

Topic: National News

1. ISRO has given its approval to the Parliamentary panel to launch satellite TV classes.

• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has received a nod from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch satellite TV classrooms in India.
• ISRO will provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms to reduce the learning gap due to lockdown.
• Scientists from ISRO have come in front of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education and elaborated on the proposed satellite TV classroom for students.
• Vinay Sahastrabuddhe is head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education.

Topic: Defence

2. INS Sarvekshak has finished survey around MV X-Press Pearl off Colombo.

• The survey of the MV X-Press Pearl around the site was done by the Indian Navy’s Hydrographic Survey Ship Sarvekshak. After the survey, the report has been given to the Sri Lankan authorities.
• On 25 June, the Government of Sri Lanka had requested to deploy the ship, which is equipped with state-of-the-art survey equipment including the Side Scan Sonar.
• INS Sarvekshak did a survey of around 807 miles with Side Scan Sonar and find 54 prominent underwater debris of MV X-Press Pearl and also find another uncharted wreck.
• INS Sarvekshak is deployed in Mauritius for hydrographic survey. It is deployed in Mauritius to conduct a joint hydrographic survey with the Mauritius Navy.

Topic: State News/Uttarakhand

3. Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

• Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken oath as new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
• He is an MLA from Khatima in Uttarakhand.
• He is the youngest Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Tirath Singh Rawat is his predecessor.
• Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as he was unable to get elected to the Uttarakhand Assembly within six months from the date he took over.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. NIPUN Bharat has been launched by Union Minister of Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

• National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) launched by the Union Minister of Education.
• The launch of NIPUN Bharat is an important step by the Department of School Education and Literacy.
• Its vision is to create enabling environment to ensure the universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy, so that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.
• Department of School Education and Literacy will implement NIPUN Bharat.
• A five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National- State- District- Block- School level in all States and UTs.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

5. Mariyappan Thangavelu to be flag-bearer for Tokyo Paralympics.

• Para high-jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu has been named as flag-bearer for the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Paralympics.
• Tokyo Paralympics is scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan between 24 August and 5 September 2021.
• Mariyappan Thangavelu had won gold in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. He was awarded the Khel Ratna award in 2020.
• He is aiming to win a gold medal in the T-42 high jump category. He was selected by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).

Topic: Personality in News

6. Nation paid homage to Swami Vivekananda on his Death Anniversary.

• Swami Vivekananda died on July 4, 1902. Nation paid homage to Swami Vivekananda on his Death Anniversary.
• Swami Vivekananda was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863. He is known for his service to the nation and humanity.
• He became famous after his speech at the World's Parliament of Religion in Chicago in 1893.
• He founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He was well versed in many subjects like philosophy, religion, spirituality, literature, and history.
• His childhood name was Narendra Nath Datta. He took the name ‘Vivekananda upon the request of Maharaja Ajit Singh in 1893.

Topic:  National News

7. Union Government will set up two new vaccine testing labs.

• The Union government has announced to set up two new vaccine testing labs facilities.
• These two new vaccine testing laboratories will be established using funds from the PM CARES Fund.
• These laboratories will be set up by the Department of Biotechnology at its autonomous research institutes — the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, and the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad.
• At present, India has only one Central Drugs Laboratory, at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.
• It will help in batch testing and quality control of vaccines. The facilities will test approximately 60 batches of vaccines per month.
• The Department of Biotechnology is involved in the vaccine development, diagnostics and testing, bio-banking and genomic surveillance.

Topic: International News

8. 2^nd India-Ghana Foreign Office Consultations held by India and Ghana.

• 2^nd India-Ghana Foreign Office Consultations were held by India and Ghana in Ghana’s capital Accra on 02 July.
• During the consultations, both sides carried out a comprehensive review of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• The meeting was co-chaired by Rahul Chhabra, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs from Indian side and Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Ghanaian side.
• Both sides also noted their cooperation on COVID-19 related issues such as donation of 50 thousand COVID vaccines by India to Ghana and six lakh Covishield made-in-India vaccines under COVAX initiative.
• An MoU was also signed for cooperation between India’s Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.
• Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership is the world’s first nuclear energy partnership centre located in Jhajjar, Haryana.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. Invest India wins most innovative Investment Promotion Agency 2021 award.

• Invest India has been awarded the world's most innovative Investment Promotion Agency 2021 by OCO Global.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar congratulated Invest India for winning the award.
• OCO Global is a leading economic development advisory firm. It works with governments and companies worldwide on international investment and trade attraction.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Space and IT

10. Department of Space releases draft National Space Transportation Policy.

• Department of Space has released a draft National Space Transportation Policy.
• Draft National Space Transportation Policy says that Indian government will continue to focus on research and development (R&D) on green fuel, robotic space exploration and reusable rockets.
• As per draft policy, research is essential on new propulsion systems based on semi-cryogenic, liquid oxygen-methane and green propellants.
• ISRO Chairman K.Sivan said that ISRO is looking at green propulsion through hydrogen peroxide in the rocket that would take Indians into space under 'Gaganyaan' mission.
• Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a mono-propellant or as a bi-propellant along with ethanol. ISRO is looking at both options.
• It is also developing LOX/Methane -- liquid oxygen as oxidiser and methane as fuel. The advantages of LOX/Methane are specific impulse, storability, low toxicity, and cost.
• ISRO has also developed a rocket-grade version of kerosene as an alternative to conventional hydrazine rocket fuel. It is named as ISROSENE.
• As per the draft policy, the current capabilities of ISRO have to be significantly enhanced towards heavy lift/super heavy lift and reusable space transportation systems.

Topic: Appointments

11. Satish Agnihotri takes over charge as MD of NHSRCL.

• Satish Agnihotri has taken over charge as Managing Director (MD) of National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL).
• He has earlier worked as Chairman & Managing Director, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). It is a schedule ‘A’ CPSE under the Ministry of Railways.
• He also held the position of Chairman, High Speed Rail Corporation, a fully owned subsidiary of RVNL.

Topic: Books and Authors

12. Biography of Nathuram Godse to be published by Pan Macmillan in 2022.

• Biography of Nathuram Godse will be published by Pan Macmillan India in 2022.
• "Nathuram Godse: The True Story of Gandhi's Assassin" by Mumbai-based journalist Dhaval Kulkarni is the biography of Nathuram Godse to be published by Pan Macmillan India.
• Teesta Guha Sarkar, editorial head at Pan Macmillan India acquired the book from Anish Chandy, founder of Labyrinth literary agency.
• "The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of Their Senas" and "The Bawla Murder Case: Love, Lust and Crime in Colonial India" are other books authored by Dhaval Kulkarni.