Daily Current Affairs and GK | 8 and 9 August 2021

Topic: Sports

1. Bajrang Punia wins Bronze medal in men’s 65Kg freestyle wrestling at Tokyo Olympics.

• Bajrang Punia has won a Bronze medal in men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling at Tokyo Olympics.
• This was India’s sixth medal in Tokyo Olympics. Punia defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov in the men's freestyle 65kg bronze medal match.
• India had earlier won two silver and three bronze medals at Tokyo Olympics. They are Mirabai Chanu and Ravi Dahiya (Silver) and PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and the Indian men’s hockey team (Bronze).
• Bajrang Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships.

Topic: Sports

2. Neeraj Chopra wins Gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw at Tokyo Olympics.

• Neeraj Chopra has won a Gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw at Tokyo Olympics. 
• He has become India's second-ever individual Olympic gold medallist after shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008).
• He is also the first athlete from independent India to win an Athletics (track and field) medal. In Paris in 1900, Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals for the country.
• Neeraj Chopra finished with a best throw of 87.58m, ahead of Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m).
• This was India’s seventh medal at Tokyo Olympics. India has set a new record of winning a total of seven medals at Tokyo Olympics.

Topic: Defence

3. Indian Navy and UAE Navy undertake bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar 2021’.

• Indian Navy and UAE Navy participated in bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar 2021’ on 07 August.
• INS Kochi, with two integral Sea King MK 42B helicopters, deployed in the Persian Gulf, took part in the exercise.
• UAE Navy took part with UAES AL – Dhafra, a Baynunah class guided missile corvette and one AS – 565B Panther helicopter.
• As part of the exercise, tactical manoeuvres, Over the Horizon Targeting, Search and Rescue and Electronic Warfare exercises were carried out by ships to enhance interoperability and synergy between the two navies.

Topic: State News/Karnataka

4. Karnataka Government issues order to implement New Education Policy 2020 from current academic session 2021-22.

• Karnataka Government has issued an order to implement New Education Policy 2020 from the current academic session 2021-22.
• Karnataka has become the first state to issue an order to implement New Education Policy 2020 from current academic session.
• National Education Policy aims to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education from 26.8 % to 50 % by 2035.
• With the implementation of the National Education Policy, National Skills Qualification Framework will become part of the graduation programme.
• Students can get a maximum of 40 % credits through official online courses and 50 % credits from any University.

Topic: Sports

5. 32^nd Summer Olympic Games concluded at National Stadium in Tokyo.

• The closing ceremony of the Summer Games concluded at National Stadium in Tokyo. Tokyo Olympics Games ended after 17 days.
• The theme of the closing ceremony was “Worlds We Share”. It is the first Olympics that was held without spectators.
• Bajrang Punia was the flag-bearer for India at the closing ceremony in Tokyo.
• India with seven medals — one gold, two silver, and four bronze, stood at 48^th position in the Tokyo Olympics games.
• In the Gold medals tally, United States has topped, followed by China with 38 medals. Japan stood third with 27 Gold medals.
• In terms of total medals, United States topped the medal tally with 113 medals. China stood second in the medal tally with 88 medals while Russian Olympic Committee stood third with 71 medals.
• France will host the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Topic: Banking System

6. SIDBI launched Swavalamban Challenge Fund to promote entrepreneurship.

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in association with Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK (FCDO UK) launched ‘Swavalamban Challenge Fund’ (SCF).
• It has been launched to promote entrepreneurship. It is a fund support mechanism to allocate funds for specific purposes using competition among organizations.
• ‘Swavalamban Challenge Fund’ (SCF) will provide financial assistance to non-profit organizations/educational institutions/social startups focused on sustainable livelihood, financial inclusion, and financial services.
• The applicants will be invited into two categories: Pilot Category and Scale-up Category. Rs 20 lakh has been allocated for Pilot Category and up to Rs 35 lakh for the Scale-up Category.
• A digital portal has been also launched by the Secretary, Ministry of MSME BB Swain.

Topic: Appointment

7. Tenure of Rekha Sharma, Chief of National Commission for Women, extended for 3 years.

• The term of Rekha Sharma, as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, has been extended for the next three years or until further orders.
• She assumed the charge of NCW chairperson on August 7, 2018. She was a member of the National Commission for women since 2015.
• She set up a "Happy to Help" task force for the elderly stuck at homes alone during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• She also raised her voice against the abuse and blackmail of women who made their confessions in church.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. Ujjwala 2.0 to be launched by PM Modi in Uttar Pradesh on 10^th August via video conferencing.

• Ujjwala 2.0 will be launched by PM Modi by handing over LPG connections at Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh on 10^th August 2021 via video conferencing.
• Ujjwala 1.0 was launched in 2016 with a target to provide LPG connections to 5 crore women members of BPL households.
• In April 2018, women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands) were also included in Ujjwala 1.0.
• The target was revised to 8 Crore LPG connections. Government achieved the target in August 2019, seven months ahead of the target date.
• In the Union budget for FY 21-22, the government has announced one crore more LPG connections under the PMUY scheme.
• One crore additional PMUY connections (under Ujjwala 2.0) aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
• First refill and hotplate will be provided free of cost to the beneficiaries under Ujjwala 2.0. Migrants will not be required to submit ration cards or address proof under Ujjwala 2.0.
• A self-declaration will suffice as both a "family declaration" and a "proof of address."

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

9. Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single dose Covid-19 vaccine gets approval from the Indian Government.

• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single-dose Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.
• It is the fifth Covid-19 vaccine to get approval after Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V, and Moderna in India.
• This decision has been taken based on the efficacy and safety data from the Phase 3 clinical trial. This single-shot vaccine is 85 percent effective against COVID-19.
• The J&J vaccine is likely to be produced in India under the Quad Vaccine Partnership, an alliance between India, US, Japan, and Australia.
• Earlier, the Indian government had announced that COVID-19 vaccines approved by the US, UK, Europe and Japan regulators or on the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use List need not conduct the clinical trials in India.

Topic: Important Days

10. International Day of the World’s indigenous people/ World Tribal Day: 9 August

• Each year, 9 August is observed as International Day of Indigenous Peoples/ World Tribal Day.
• It is observed to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world's indigenous population.
• It is celebrated to mark the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the United Nations in 1982.
• On 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 9 August as International Day of Indigenous Peoples.
• The theme of International Day of Indigenous Peoples 2021 is “Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract”.
• Tribal Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1994. People of the tribal community live in more than 90 countries of the world.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

11. 2^nd IEEE International Conference on Range Technology concluded.

• On 5^th August 2021, the 2^nd Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology was concluded virtually.
• It was organized by Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Participants from across the globe presented their technological achievements in multiple subjects related to the test and evaluation of defence systems.
• The conference has provided a platform for all the Range Technology enthusiasts to interact with each other.
• This international conference was first organized by ITR in 2019.

Topic: Miscellaneous

12. Culture Minister inaugurated exhibition on 79th anniversary of Quit India movement.

• Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy inaugurated the exhibition on the 79^th anniversary of the Quit India movement.
• The 79^th anniversary of the Quit India movement has been celebrated on 8^th August 2021. On this day in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi started the Quit India movement.
• On 8^th August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a call of Do or Die in his Quit India speech at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai.

(Source: News on AIR)