Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 November 2021

Topic: Sports

1. Manika Batra and Archana Kamath won women's doubles title in the WTT Contender tournament.

• Manika Batra and Archana Kamath have won women's doubles title in the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender tournament in Lasko, Slovenia.
• Manika Batra and Archana Kamath have defeated the Puerto Rican team of Melanie Diaz and Adriana Diaz while playing at the Sports Hall Tri Lilije on 07 November.
• On 06 November, Manika Batra won a bronze medal. Wang Yidi of China defeated Manika in the semi-finals of women's singles.
• Manika Batra and Archana Kamath are Indian table tennis players. Manika Batra was granted Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2020.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. Centre decides to discard caste-based payment method for MGNREGA Scheme.

• Centre has decided to discard the caste-based payment method for people working under MGNREGA Scheme.
• The Finance Ministry has directed the Ministry of Rural Development to bring back the earlier system of making Single Muster and Single Fund Transfer Order (FTO).
• Finance Ministry has also directed Rural Development Ministry to revert to previous system of transferring money into a single National Electronic Fund Management System account.
• Finance Ministry’s order said that now a new revised accounting procedure will be implemented through a single FTO.
• Rural Development Ministry has been told to set a date on which new process will be effective.
• In March, Rural Development Ministry had asked the States to generate three separate FTOs for each of the three caste groups (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and others) for every muster roll at an MGNREGA worksite.
• The payments were to be made into three separate accounts of the State Government. State Governments warned of rising social tensions due to this system proposed in March.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

3. Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred posthumously with Basavashree Award.

• Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar will be posthumously awarded the Basavashree award 2021 by the Bruhanmutt.
• Basavashree Award is given to people for their service to society by following the principles of Lord Basaveshwar in their respective fields.
• In recent times, it was given to PT Usha (2009), Malala Yousufzai (2014), P Sainath (2016), Dr K Kasturirangan (2020).
• It is being presented by Chitradurga Bruhanmutt since 1997. The awardee receives Rs 5 lakh cash and a memento.
• Puneeth Rajkumar recently passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was popularly known as the Powerstar.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

4. Government declared Srinagar International airport as ‘Major Airport’.

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation has declared Srinagar International airport as ‘Major Airport’.
• The Central Government has declared Srinagar airport as Major Airport under Section 2 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the first direct international flight between Srinagar and Sharjah on 23 October.
• The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) will determine tariffs for aeronautical services at Srinagar airport.
• Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) was set up to regulate the tariffs and other charges at major airports.
• Government can declare any airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 35 lakhs.
• There are 35 International airports in India. Srinagar Airport is also known as Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma awards in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma awards in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• He presented Padma Vibhushan Award to Boxer MC Mary Kom.
• He honoured Former Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, George Fernandes, and Sushma Swaraj with Padma Vibhushan posthumously.
• He also honoured former Mauritius President Anerood Jugnauth and late seer of Pejawar Mutt Vishwesha Teertha Swami with Padma Vibhushan.
• President Kovind presented Padma Bhushan to personalities mentioned below.
  • Gandhian Krishnammal Jagannathan
  • Senior Jammu Kashmir leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig
  • Veteran Gynecologist from Ladakh Dr Tsering Landol
  • Business magnates Anand Mahindra and Venu Srinivasan
  • English and Odia Author Manoj Das
• He honoured Former Union Minister and former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar with Padma Bhushan posthumously. Badminton player P V Sindhu also received Padma Bhushan.
• Convener of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan, an advocacy group for victims, survivors and their families Abdul Jabbar was honoured with Padma Shri posthumously. 
• Other prominent personalities who were given Padma Shri are given in the following table.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal released 3rd edition of LEADS report.

• Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has released 3rd edition of Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report, 2021.
• As per the report, Gujarat is the Best Performer State while Uttar Pradesh is the top improver state.
• As per the report, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab occupy first, second and third positions, respectively.
• Uttar Pradesh’s ranking in the report has moved ahead seven places since 2019. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have shown a remarkable improvement in their ranks compared to 2019 LEADS ranking.
• Within the North Eastern States and Himalayan Region, Jammu and Kashmir is the top ranker followed by Sikkim and Meghalaya. Delhi stands at the top rank among Other UTs.
• The LEADS survey 2021 was conducted over the period from May to August 2021.
• Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that inputs given by LEADS report 2021 can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5% over the next 5 years.

Topic: State News/ Jammu and Kashmir

7. Srinagar joins UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021.

• Srinagar has been added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021 under the crafts and folk arts category. It has been designated as a Creative City of Craft and Folk Arts.
• Worldwide, 49 new cities have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) for their culture and creativity.
• Government had recommended Gwalior for the Creativity City of Music and Srinagar for the Creativity City of Craft and Folk arts on 29 June, 2021. The nomination of Gwalior was rejected.
• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) involves folk art, media, film, literature, design, gastronomy and media arts.
• UNESCO recognized Jaipur as 'City of Craft and Folk Art’ in 2015 and Varanasi and Chennai was designated as ‘Creative city of Music’.
• UNESCO Creative Cities Network has now 295 cities in 90 countries.
• UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that have identified as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Polity

8. Government amends Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011.

• Government has amended Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 for enhanced protection of Consumer Rights.
• The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has removed the rule 5, which define the pack sizes of various types of commodities.
• Under the new provision, the unit sale price on pre-packed commodities will be indicated on the Packets.
• Now, declaration of date of manufacture on the pre-packed commodities has been made mandatory.
• It has allowed the manufacturer to declare the MRP on the pre-packed commodities in a simplified manner. The amendments will come into effect from 1st April 2021.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Uttarakhand

9. Uttarakhand celebrated its formation day.

• Uttarakhand Foundation Day is observed annually on November 9 to mark the formation of the state of Uttarakhand. This year people of Uttarakhand is celebrating its 21st foundation day.
• On this occasion, many functions have been organized in the state capital Dehradun.
• Uttarakhand was formed in the year 2000 after joining several districts from the Northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh.
• Earlier, it was known as Uttaranchal, however, in 2007, it was renamed as Uttarakhand.
• It is one of the most important tourist spots in India.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Government launched first-ever mentorship programme for young innovators.

• The government launched the first-ever mentorship programme for young innovators to mark the anniversary of the 75th year of Independence.
• The Ministry of Science and Technology has taken many steps to promote scientific temper among young people.
• The 'DBT-Star College Mentorship Programme' will help towards the concept of networking, hand holding, and outreach.
• This scheme envisages a 'Star College' in every district of the country supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• The Star Status Colleges will strengthen UG Science Courses throughout the country by mentoring the newer colleges.
• Under the Star College Scheme, a total of 278 undergraduate colleges are getting support.

Topic: Space and IT

11. Wang Yaping becomes first Chinese woman to walk in space.

• Wang Yaping becomes the first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space during her first extravehicular operation on the Shenzhou-13 mission.
• She left the main module of the Tiangong station for more than six hours to install equipment and carry out tests alongside the station’s robotic arm.
•  Tiangong meaning "heavenly palace" is the space station of China. Tiangong is expected to operate for at least 10 years.
• Zhai is the first Chinese astronaut to perform spacewalk in 2008.
• The Shenzhou-13 crew will carry out another one or two spacewalks. The main objective of the spacewalk is to install an adaptor to allow Tianhe's large arm to connect to another, smaller arm.
• Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman to travel into space.

Topic: Miscellaneous

12. 17 scientists received Swarnajayanti Fellowships for their innovative research ideas.

• Seventeen scientists from scientific institutions have been awarded with Swarnajayanti Fellowships for their innovative research ideas.
• Selected Scientists will be allowed to pursue unfettered research with freedom and flexibility in terms of expenditure as approved in the research plan.
• The Swarnajayanti Fellowship scheme was established by the Government to celebrate India’s fiftieth year of Independence.
• Under the scheme, awardees were facilitated by the Department of Science & Technology for performing the research.
• A fellowship of Rs. 25,000/- per month for five years is given to selected scientists. In addition to fellowship, grants for equipment, computational facilities, consumables, etc. are also provided to scientists.

Topic: Reports and Indices

13. Harm Reduction Consortium released first Global Drug Policy Index.

• The inaugural Global Drug Policy Index has been released by the Harm Reduction Consortium.
• Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, the UK, and Australia as the five leading countries on this Index for their humane and health-driven drug policies.
• Brazil, Uganda, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico are at the bottom of this Index. India has been placed on the 18th Position out of 30 countries.
• Global Drug Policy Index is based on the 75 indicators across five broad dimensions of drug policy.
• Criminal justice, extreme responses, health and harm reduction, access to internationally controlled medicines, and development are the five broad dimensions of drug policy.
• Norway scored 74/100 while New Zealand scored 71/100. India has an overall score of 46/100 in the Global Drug Policy Index.
• The Harm Reduction Consortium has developed this Index with help of many partners including the European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the Eurasian Network of People who Use Drugs (ENPUD), and the Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO).