Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 January 2021

Topic: State News/ Gujarat

1. 4,000 villages of Gujarat will be covered under Kisan Suryoday Yojana.

• Gujarat Government announced that 4000 villages would be covered under the Kisan Suryoday Yojana by the end of January 2021.
• Under this scheme, farmers are provided power supply for irrigation during the day-time. All villages of Gujarat will be covered by 2022 under this scheme. The Government will also install new transmission lines for the implementation of this scheme.
• Kisan Suryoday Yojana was launched by Prime Minister in October 2020.
• The main aim of this scheme is to save water and to protect the farmers from snakes and other wild animals during the night time.
• Gujarat:
  • It is a coastal state of India.
  • Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat
  • Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
  • Lok Sabha seats: 26, Rajya Sabha seats: 11
  • Gir National Park is located in Gujarat.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. Cabinet approved an MoU between India and Japan for cooperation on Employment of skilled workers.

• The government has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Japan for the mobility of ‘Specified Skilled Worker’.
• An institutional mechanism will be set up for sending and accepting of skilled Indian workers.
• A joint working group will also be formed for the implementation of this Memorandum of Cooperation.
• The Indian workers will be granted the status of “Specified Skilled Worker” by the Government of Japan.
• The qualified Indian workers will get an opportunity to work in fourteen specified sectors in Japan.
• Japan:
  • It is an island country in East Asia.
  • Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.
  • Current Prime Minister: Yoshihide Suga
  • Currency: Japanese Yen

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

3. New Rewari - New Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor inaugurated by PM Modi

• New Rewari - New Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor has been inaugurated by PM Modi.
• World's first Double Stack Long Haul 1.5 Kilometer long Container Train hauled by electric traction from New Ateli -New Kishangarh has also been started by PM Modi.
• New Rewari - New Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor is 306 Kilometer long and is located in Haryana and Rajasthan.
• Nine newly built dedicated freight corridor stations are part of New Rewari - New Madar Section. They include three junction stations in New Rewari, New Ateli and New Phulera.
• Some benefits of New Rewari - New Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are given below.
  • Industries in Rewari - Manesar, Narnaul, Phulera and Kishangarh areas of Rajasthan and Haryana will be benefitted.
  • Better usage of container depot of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) at Kathuwas.
  • Seamless connectivity with the western ports of Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, and Dahej situated in Gujarat
• Last month, 351-kilometer New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of the Eastern freight corridor was inaugurated by PM.
• Western Dedicated Freight Corridor is 1504 kilometers long. It connects J N Port in Mumbai to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh via Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Palanpur-Phulera-Rewari. It passes through five states.

(Source: DFCCIL)

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. India, France will hold annual strategic dialogue.

• The annual strategic dialogue between India and France will be held on 7 January.
• The Indian delegation will be led by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval while the French side would be led by Emmanuel Bonne.
• Both countries will discuss various bilateral and global issues.
• In recent years, both countries have cooperated in the field of defense, space, Nuclear energy, trade, etc.
• India and France are strategic partners since 1998.
• The last edition of the strategic dialogue was held in Paris in February 2020.
• France:
  • It is a Western European country whose capital is Paris.
  • The President of France is Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister is Jean Castex.
  • The currency of France is Euro.
  • It is one of the five permanent members of the UNSC

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

5. Government will form a committee for the protection of language, culture & land of Ladakh.

• The union government has decided to form a committee for the protection of language, culture and land of Ladakh.
• Minister of state, G Kishan Reddy, will be the head of the committee. It will also have representatives from Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, the central government, and the Ladakh administration.
• On 31 October 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh.
• Ladakh:
  • It is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, and china.
  • It is the largest and the second least populous union territory of India.
  • The China administered region of Ladakh is known as Aksai Chin.
  • Radha Krishna Mathur is the current Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.

Topic: Environment

6. Government approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict in the country.

• The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife, in its 60th meeting, has approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict across the country.
• It comprises guidelines for the states and Union Territories to deal with the Human-Wildlife conflict situations. It has also empowered gram panchayats to deal with the Human-Wildlife Conflict.
• Features of advisory:
  • The crop compensation will be given under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojna for the damage of crops caused due to Human-Wildlife Conflict.
  • Arrangement of fodder and water will be made in the forest areas to reduce the conflict.
  • Adopting early warning systems, creating barriers, and setting up control rooms are some measures recommended in the advisory.
• Other decisions of Standing Committee meeting are:
  • Caracal, a medium-sized wild cat, is included in the list of critically endangered species. It is found in the regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
  • It has also recommended some mitigation projects, including the construction of road between the Jampannavagu and Motlagudem in Telangana.
• National Board for Wildlife:
  • It is a statutory body under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
  • It is responsible for the promotion of wildlife conservation and the development of wildlife and forests.
  • It is headed by the Prime Minister of India.

Topic: Important Days

7. Marathi Journalism Day was celebrated on 6 January in Maharashtra.

• Marathi Journalism Day is celebrated every year on 6 January across Maharashtra.
• It is celebrated to mark the first issue of Marathi newspaper “Darpan’. The first Marathi newspaper was started by Balshastri Jambhekar on 6 January 1832.
• Balshastri Jambhekar is also known as the Father of Marathi journalism.
• This day is also observed to mark the birth anniversary of Balshastri Jambhekar.
• National Journalism Day is observed on 17 November.
• Maharashtra:
  • Maharashtra is India’s third-largest state in terms of area. In terms of population, it is the second-most populous state.
  • It shares its boundary with Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackery, Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari

Topic: Sports

8. Khelo India Ice Hockey tournament will be organised in Kargil.

• Khelo India Ice Hockey Tournament will be organised at Chiktan in Kargil.
• The 13 teams from different villages of Chiktan will participate in this tournament. Two women team of Chiktan will also participate in this tournament.
• It is the first time women are participating in the Ice Hockey tournament in Kargil.
• Ice hockey:
  • It is a sport that is played by two teams on the ice.
  • Each team has six players.    
  • The Ice Hockey Association of India is the governing body of ice hockey in India.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/ Rankings

9. India report on Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1 released by Health Minister.

• India report on Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1 has been released by Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.
• LASI is a complete and thorough national survey of scientific investigation of determinants and consequences of population ageing in India. It includes health, economic and social determinants and consequences.  
• Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted the importance of the report and said that 8.6% of Indian population is 60 plus population as per 2011 census. He also mentioned other facts about elderly people.

• The number of elderly people is expected to increase to 319 million in 2050 at the growth rate of 3% per annum.
• LASI was carried out by National Programme for Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. NPHCE was launched in 2010.
• It was carried out through International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health, University of Southern California, USA, United Nations Population Fund and National Institute on Ageing.
• LASI, WAVE-1 covered a baseline sample of over 72,000 individuals aged 45 and above and their spouses from all states and Union Territories of India excluding Sikkim.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News  

10. Indian hockey player Michael Kindo dies.

• Indian hockey player Michael Kindo died due to age-related ailments.
• He was a member of India’s team that won 1975 hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He was also a member of the 1972 Olympics bronze winning team.
• He was given Arjuna Award in 1972.  He was from Odisha and Odisha CM described him as a tribal icon.

Topic: Appointments

11. Sanjay Kapoor won election for the president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF).

• Sanjay Kapoor has won the election for the president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) by defeating P R Venketrama Raja.
• Sanjay Kapoor represents Uttar Pradesh Chess Association. Bharat Singh Chauhan won secretary’s post by defeating Ravindra Dongre.
• Naresh Sharma defeated Kishor M. Bandekar for the post of treasurer. K. Kannan announced the results of the election held online on 4 January 2021. He was appointed as returning officer by Madras High Court.
• All India Chess Federation (AICF) was founded in 1951. It is headquartered in Chennai.